Silver Linings Playbook
David O. Russell
2012
I knew exactly nothing about this before I saw it, except who was in it (and I didn’t even know Robert DeNiro was in it until he was nominated for an Oscar for it). I found it charming.
I think Bradley Cooper must have been on screen 100% of the time. (I don’t mean in the frame on literally every shot, but that he was in every single scene of the movie. Am I right about that?) If you had asked me if I thought he had the chops to pull that off in a movie that I think does deserve the acclaim it’s gotten, I would have said, “no.” Probably more accurately, I would have said, “I guess I haven’t seen him that much, but, I mean, come on. No.” I would have been wrong in that imaginary situation. I don’t blame Unka Joe for pulling for him as much as he is for the Oscar. I have my own feelings about who should win, but Cooper is effectively frustrating, delightful, annoying, and exciting. He’s really good.
But we know all this (or we do if we’ve seen the movie). Everyone is good. I’m happy DeNiro got a decent part again so that he could actually act and not play some silly comedic role like he has been for 15 years (turns out he deserves Oscar nominations when he plays real parts, who would have guessed?). I’ll say Jennifer Lawrence’s name because otherwise Unka Joe will yell at me, although I don’t really know what I want to say about her. She’s great, as she ALWAYS is, but I don’t feel like I have anything interesting to say about her performance (that’s not a knock on her, just on me).
I do wonder about Jacki Weaver. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked her character, but was that performance Oscar-worthy? I assume this is one of those situations where someone will say, “Fletch, you weren’t paying attention to the subtlety of her performance, she was really the anchor of the movie” or something like that. I thought she was good, and fit in nicely, but I also knew going in that she was nominated for an Oscar, so of course I was paying attention to her, and I still just don’t quite get it. Tell me I’m wrong, but please also explain it to me. I feel like this was a little Weinstein magic.
I very much appreciated the extreme superstition, I know that world. And I also very much appreciated the celebration of mediocrity at the end of the dance competition. Obviously there was a lot more going on, but still.
And when’s the last time you saw Chris Tucker? He was just right.
This is one of my favorite films of the year. David O Russell can do no wrong. “The Fighter” was great and “Silver Linings Playbook” was even better! I really like your review of the film. Let me know what you think of mine if you like: http://vlizz.com/2012/11/16/silver-linings-playbook-review-cooper-and-lawrence-are-oscar-hopefuls/
Also, how do I follow your blog?
I have to be in the comments now, you mentions me twice. I think Cooper’s role was the most difficult in the film, so of course Jennifer Lawrence was riveting — but the Oscar goes to Bradley Cooper if we have to choose just one from this movie. For whom are you pulling for best actor?
I’ve actually only seen Cooper and Day-Lewis (comments on “Lincoln” forthcoming), so I don’t feel like I can judge the whole category very well, but of the two, I’d go with Day-Lewis. That said, Cooper was excellent, and I agree that it was a terribly difficult role. But Daniel Day-Lewis operates on a level above damn near anyone else, and Lincoln was very much not another version of Bill the Butcher or Daniel Plainview (obviously), which is the sort of thing he’s been nominated for over the past 10 years or whatever, and he made it seem so effortless. I liked both of them, I go with Day-Lewis even though everyone else seems to think he’ll win and it’s usually more fun to be a contrarian.
I hear Denzel is very good.
I will be neither surprised nor distressed if the nod goes to DDL. It was a truly great demonstration of acting craft.