Silver Linings Playbook

I went to see Silver Linings Playbook last weekend since it was nominated for Best Picture and I wanted to see what was so great about it. The short answer is: a lot of things.

In the movie, Bradley Cooper plays a newly released mental patient with bipolar disorder, sent away after a violent attack on the man he caught having an affair with his wife, Nikki. He is a new man- pounds lighter and with the optimistic worldview to look for the silver lining. Also, with a restraining order. Despite said obstacle put forth by his estranged wife, Bradley Cooper's character Pat is determined to reconcile their relationship and continue on as usual. Jennifer Lawrence plays Tiffany, a widow and the sister of Nikki's best friend, who  professes to being able to pass on a letter to Nikki in exchange for Pat's help in a dance competition.

Both Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper gave outstanding performances, and both deserve the Oscar nominations they've gotten as a result. The director, David O. Russell, was also brilliant, creating a harsh, yet funny world where (like Pat's moods) we fluctuate in highs and lows.

But what I loved most was the obvious implication that "craziness" wasn't something limited to patients in a mental institution. Craziness in varying dosages is a part of life, present in the family that is supposed to be your stable environment, present in the choices we make, and in the idea that we can control anything. 

Pat's father, played by Robert De Niro, is convinced his OCD tendencies and superstition influence the outcome of the Philadelphia Eagles' football games. Pat's friend Ronnie is afraid of his bullying wife, and thinks his life is stuck in that fear. Tiffany understands Pat because her own wild experiences after losing her husband have put her in a similar place of emotional distance. And even with rampant personal problems of everyone's own, that doesn't prevent anyone from caring about each other, or showing support when it's needed.  

"There's always going to be a part of me that's sloppy and dirty, but I like that. With all the other parts of myself. Can you say the same about yourself? Can you forgive? Are you any good at that?"

Tiffany tells the above line to Pat about halfway through the movie and I think it's one of the most important lines of the film. Being partially unhinged is not a death sentence or an indication that you need to be banished or even necessarily "fixed." It's a part of you that you accept and cultivate any way you know how.