SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Forget the naff title – this is not at all a bad film, although it has, I think, been somewhat overpraised. It’s good but not that good. On the other hand, you have to give it full marks for boldness because both its protagonists, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, suffer from mental illness.

Cooper, who is bipolar, has just spent eight months in a psychiatric clinic as the result of a plea bargain after he beat up his wife’s lover. Since the lover, discovered in the shower with the wife, had told Cooper: ‘I think you should leave’, I reckon he had it coming.

Tossed back into society, Cooper has to live with his parents, Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro, and, his head crammed with positive thinking, sets about winning his missus back, even though she’s left town and taken out a restraining order against him. If he can do that, he believes, he will find the silver lining, although from the start, we know he’s living in cloud cuckoo land.

But then some degree of loopiness appears to be prevalent in this part of Philadelphia, where the action is set. De Niro, who has become a bookie after losing his job, is himself violent, suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and near the end, takes a crazy bet that could make or break him. Meanwhile, Cooper’s henpecked best friend, John Ortiz, is on the verge of meltdown.

And then we come to Lawrence. The exact nature of her mental instability isn’t clear but the accidental death of her husband has led her to antidepressants and promiscuous sex. She and Cooper are introduced at a dinner party, whereafter they meet frequently as, initially to his great irritation, she pursues him on his daily jog.

Eventually, she offers to deliver a letter from him to his estranged wife if, in return, he will do something for her – be her partner in a dance competition. The film, adapted by Matthew Quick from his own novel and directed by David O Russell (who has previously shown a fascination with dysfunctional people in Spanking The Monkey and The Fighter), presents itself as a romantic comedy but it isn’t really. It’s more of a psychological romantic drama with a nice leavening of humour.

The first two acts in which we get to know Cooper and Lawrence and understand their problems are particularly strong but the third, wherein everything is neatly wrapped up, seems sudden, convenient and boxoffice inspired.

But the performances by Cooper, hitherto best known for his part in the splendidly vulgar The Hangover and its less successful sequel, and Lawrence, who made a great impact in Winter’s Bone, are very impressive. These are two people to keep an eye on in the future. Weaver is good, too, and De Niro is OK, though these days he just seems to be going through his paces.

In brief, I’d say this is a movie I’m very glad to have seen but I wouldn’t rush to see it again.