By Kelli Londono/entertainment editor
The new film Silver Linings Playbook starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence tells of an awkward love story, including laugh-out-loud scenes and painful but truthful moments.
Pat Solitano (Cooper) is a former history teacher who was released from a mental institution. He tries to get a fresh start with his ex-wife, but everything changes when he meets Tiffany (Lawrence), a loud-mouthed nymphomaniac who seems to match his level of mental illness.
The actors portray characters the audience has never seen them play before, and it works.
Gone is The Hangover party atmosphere from Cooper. Although the features of the former “Sexiest Man Alive” are still seen, he makes even recently released psych patients look good. He portrays a serious character with serious issues to overcome.
Lawrence steals the show. She is one of very few stars who can branch away from the sagas and trilogies that have become so popular and still be successful. She is not the teen on fire but a lonely woman with a broken spirit.
The cinematography goes well with the plotline. Not only does the audience see Pat’s battle with life outside the hospital, but it sees the struggle in the filming as well. The camera moves with fast, sporadic motions. The camera will go from one object or scene to another when Pat battles his urges and will stare at images for awkward amounts of time when his obsessive-compulsive tendencies kick in. The movie moves through his eyes, like the mind of a psychologically frail person.
Unfortunately, the film is longer than it should be. At 122 minutes, the story could be as good in 90 or 100.
The storyline for Pat’s history is too choppy. The audience learns bits and pieces of his past, including the incident that put him in the hospital, bit by bit. Scenes play out with the audience wondering what the characters are referencing, and then the next scene is a flashback to the reference. It is awkwardly backward and annoying to say the least.
But, overall, Silver Linings Playbook is a good movie. It shares a story that is rarely told, which makes it fresh. It deals with serious issues that everyday people face and slides humor into the mix for enjoyment.
And I mean, come on, it’s, like, Bradley Cooper.
