Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Pat: You have poor social skills. You have a problem.
Tiffany: I have a problem? You say more inappropriate things than appropriate things.

Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) is a man who lost the two things in life that meant most to him -his job and his wife - after beating up a guy who he finds with his wife in the shower. He ends up in a mental institution and starts realizing he suffers from bipolar disorder. After spending months in the institution, he is brought home by his mother on a plea bargain. Yet the only thing that still drives him is getting back with his wife and he believes that there never was so much of a problem. He refuses to believe, against everyone's advice, that she might have moved on. He also refuses to take his pills since that would make him bloated and he won't be able to stay good-looking and fit for his wife.

Enter Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence)  - an equally crazy young girl with problems of her own. After losing her husband and being in a state of emotional turmoil, she ends up sleeping with 11 of her office colleagues and gets fired from her job. When they meet at a dinner hosted by Pat's friend, she sees something in common with him and tries to strike up a friendship. So far, so good.

Pat is extremely optimistic about his life going forward and doesn't believe in playing the victim. After reading Ernest Hemingway's Farewell to Arms, he throws it out of the window since it doesn't have a happy ending.  The mood swings, the anger and his delusional obsession with his wife have been played really well by Brad Cooper. From the moment Tiffany starts stubbornly pursuing Pat while promising to get him to patch up with his wife, the movie looks promising, but only to move into the tried and tested territory of a romantic comedy. It could have been so much better if the director, David Russell, could have taken it in a different direction to show what Pat is most afraid of, i.e. things don't go as per your plan. People with BP disorder do not have a great grasp on reality of life around them and the delusional optimism usually ends in heartbreak, anger and more delusions. A tragicomedy where the fate of the protagonist runs parallel with that of the hero from Farewell to Arms, even while he tries to resist it, could have made the movie Oscar material. However, the way the movie plays out in the end with people finding "true love" and all that bullshit, I really hope the Academy can see through all the hype. Even though it wouldn't be fair to Brad Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

Rating - 6.5/10