Original Review Link
I have a few friends who have been to see this who, possibly because they had done the honourable but potentially fatal exercise of not reading up on what SLP was about and subsequently ended up not liking it... Well, as much as I sometimes will watch a film completely blind, knowing little or something nothing of what it is about, SLP was one of those exceptions... and I'm glad it was.
I've always been a borderline fan of David O Russell's work (with the notable exception of I Heart Huckabees there haven't been any that I've seen that I haven't liked) so I had an idea of what sort of film to expect. The glorious cliche of American Indie Cinema and all that it represents has a;ways been a sub genre of art house cinema that I have enjoyed. The likes of The Good Girl, Lawn Dogs, Beautiful Girls, Little Miss Sunshine and O'Russells own Flirting With Disaster are all prime examples of the "type" of film that Silver Linings Playbook is lining itself up to be.
So the film itself... Well, the cast and their performances are predictably top drawer for a film that has fared so well during awards season. Bradley Cooper is exceptional playing against his usual brash and cocky type offering us a more vulnerable, damaged character. The always impressive Jennifer Lawrence is everything you would want and expect her to be and although I suspect Anne Hathaway will be walking away with a gold statuette in a few weeks time, my personal vote would go to Jen! De Niro is better than he has been in years and all the other supporting roles are equally well developed and rounded.
The story progresses at a nice pace and ultimately the run time of the film feels just about right. The finale, without giving any spoilers away, may divide a few people in the way it resolves (or doesn't) its characters many issues. If I had any criticism of the film it would be that the final 5-10 minutes of the film seems to revert back to the type of film it seems to be doing everything it can not to be. That's not a bad thing and some people will like it. It's not that I didn't like it, part of me did, it just felt like it belonged in another film.
So overall, this is highly recomended for fans of O'Russell, Lawrence (who can make any film good), De Niro and in general American Independent cinema. I for one thought it was excellent!
I rated this film 4 and a half stars out of 5 and I really hope Jennifer Lawrence wins the Oscar next month for Best Actress!
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