SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK Review

I am a late comer to the Silver Linings Playbook party, but nonetheless I am happy to be here. I have always been anxious to see how this film turned out since first hearing the rumblings and seeing a few set photos. I even listed it in my honorable mentions section for the films I most anticipated for the fall of 2012 before the Toronto International Film Festival and before all of the positive reviews came rolling in. Though it is a David O. Russell film and that fact alone is enough to interest me after The Fighter, it also has an extremely appealing and surprising cast. It is not the typical type of film you see being lauded with praise and nominated for awards, but I'm glad it is. Silver Linings Playbook falls somewhere into the conventions of a Hollywood romantic comedy yet is the antithesis of these types of films at the same time. It takes everything you know and expect from that type of film and turns it on its head. It is a movie that makes you feel as if someone who watched one too many of the contrived rom-coms called their bluff and developed a sincere film with real people, layered characters and situations that we might be more inclined not just to believe, but to trust with a story so ultimately lovely and life affirming. It is, on one hand, a gritty drama that looks at what happens after a life changing event and on the other a true to life comedy that captures all the right moments with the perfect tone. I went into the film with high expectations, of course, but more importantly I think it was the high hopes I held that were more satisfied as I looked upon the final, comforting shot. It is not the most unconventional of stories, but it is a story of characters and how they genuinely make it day to day. A heartwarming tale that doesn't feel manipulating, but rather like the story of the neighbors down the street.