MYST #3: Silver Linings Playbook

 

I've been meaning to see this film since it's been released, and I was thrilled when it was finally on Netflix. What intrigued me to begin with was its element of mental illness within its characters. I'ts really interesting how the portrayal of mental illness can vary in severity depending on the storyline of the film. What I like about this film is that the illness was shown in a really realist way. Patrick (played by Bradley Cooper) had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and although his symptoms were apparent (especially when he was off his medication), he was still a really normal and realistic character. It added to the deeper chemistry between him and Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) by exposing her bipolar characteristics and also by being able to bring out the best in each other in the end.

The story begins with Patrick wanting to prove that he's stable enough to win back the love of his ex-wife, which leads to the arrangement of him helping Tiffany with her dance competition in exchange for her delivering letters to Patrick's ex-wife for him. The storybook ending of Patrick and Tiffany falling for each other was pretty predictable, but it also satisfies what the audience wants by following through on how they set the characters up.
One of my favorite scenes in the entire film was the actual dance scene at the competition. I love how it started out with serious and pretty music, but then it kicked in with "Fell in Love with a Girl" by the White Stripes (an upbeat, punky tune). I think the music choice really gives personality to the characters and to the film as a whole. It created this optimistic, happy-go-lucky feeling which greatly contrasted to the depressing backstory behind the characters. It reminded me of a scene from one of my favorite movies, *The Perks of Being a Wallflower* (another film whose main character has a mental illness); Charlie (Logan Lerman), who's typically socially awkward, joins his tow new friends in dancing to "Come On Eileen". Both films have that feature freeing feeling of joy despite the overwhelming problems we know the characters to have.

I really enjoyed viewing this movie, even though the plot was a little slow at some points. I would recommend it to anyone who's a fan of dramas with elements of romantic comedies. It wasn't really unique, but it was very well done and interesting because of the well developed, multidimensional characters.
4/5 Stars