Patrick (Bradley Cooper), recently diagnosed with bi-polar
is released from a psychiatric hospital eight months after nearly beating a man
to death for sleeping with his wife. He arrives home to find that his superstitious
father (Robert De Niro) has lost his job and is making money as a bookmaker on
American Football games. Patrick is desperate to reconnect with his wife
despite their problems and a restraining order and soon falls in with a friend
of a friend called Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who promises to get a letter to
Patrick’s wife in exchange for help in a dance competition.
I had no interest in seeing Silver Linings Playbook, especially after my girlfriend saw it and
gave a one word review of “meh-umm-yeah”. A friend of mine though said it was
excellent and it’s popping up in awards nominations and best of lists so I thought
I should check it out. If the film gets anywhere near any major awards for
anything other than acting, I will be shocked. The film is average at best but flourishes
due to some great acting performances which start at the leads and extend right
down to the secondary and tertiary characters.
