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 Silver Linings Playbook 

What grade would you give this film?
A 68%  68%  [ 19 ]
B 25%  25%  [ 7 ]
C 4%  4%  [ 1 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 4%  4%  [ 1 ]
Total votes : 28

 Silver Linings Playbook 
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
torrino wrote:
Finally saw this. Maybe my favorite of the year, as well.

The psychiatrist bothered me -- drinking with your patients? giving concrete advice to your patients? In fact, we probably could have done without his character. Maybe Pat just has a thought in one of his 3 am insomniac sessions that he needed to help Tiffany's crazy. But ok.

Still, I don't usually tear up...and I did here. Ish.


Its probably my favourite of the year so far. Only minor issue I have which is related to what you said about he psychiatrist - some aspects of the supporting cast are a little too out of place and unrealistic - but I guess that's why its a comedy or dramedy whatever.

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Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:25 am
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
I think the psychiatrist character is needed to give insight into Pat's psyche. They could have done more voiceover narration like they did at the very end, but I was glad they didn't.


Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:13 pm
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
The ending is very corny, but hell it WORKED. Anyone else had a huge grin on their face when Pat and Tiffany embraced and kissed at the end when he caught up to her and gave her the letter?

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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
I believe Russell went too far at the end.

The scene at the end of The Fighter, with Wahlberg and Bale on the sofa concluding an interview, is much, much more moving.

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Sun Feb 03, 2013 1:25 pm
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
Yep. The ending was fantastic. Who cares if it was totally expected. If it works, it works.

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Sun Feb 03, 2013 2:18 pm
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
Magnus wrote:
the best part of the end isn't the actual embrace but the sudden camera movement as they kissed. O'Russell perfectly makes it clear with that shot IMO that you're watching a couple in a movie and not some real-life drama. he gives the audience (and his characters) the ending they want/deserve, not necessarily the one that is realistic. and it works.


Agreed. There's nothing wrong with having a happy ending once in a while. This is a case where I would have been annoyed without one. It was the cherry on top of this movie, making it a certified crowd-pleaser.


Sun Feb 03, 2013 3:16 pm
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
Libs wrote:
I think the psychiatrist character is needed to give insight into Pat's psyche. They could have done more voiceover narration like they did at the very end, but I was glad they didn't.

My comment had more to do with the character's capability as a psychiatrist. Drinking with patients, giving concrete advice to patients, teasing patents with their triggers prior to an appointment -- these are all things psychiatrists are not supposed to do.


Mon Feb 04, 2013 12:30 am
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
torrino wrote:
Libs wrote:
I think the psychiatrist character is needed to give insight into Pat's psyche. They could have done more voiceover narration like they did at the very end, but I was glad they didn't.

My comment had more to do with the character's capability as a psychiatrist. Drinking with patients, giving concrete advice to patients, teasing patents with their triggers prior to an appointment -- these are all things psychiatrists are not supposed to do.


Yeah, no shit, but then again I can't find even ten movies that portray psychotherapists in a realistic, modern way. At least he wasn't a psychoanalyst, which most Hollywood films are obsessed with.

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Mon Feb 04, 2013 1:33 pm
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
Dr. Lecter wrote:
Yeah, no shit, but then again I can't find even ten movies that portray psychotherapists in a realistic, modern way.

Can you name three?

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Mon Feb 04, 2013 2:07 pm
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Post 
Silver Linings Playbook

So I just watched this, thought I'd check it out seeing as though it's nominated for a lot of Oscars. A good film is one that has the ability to grip you right off the bat, and this gripped me. Perhaps it was the decision to allow Pat's story to take effect before introducing Tiffany, I don't know, but it just grabbed me and I enjoyed it until the credits. You know, with an Oscar film, it's very easy to award them a higher than normal grade because you have the safety of knowledge that a bunch of respected industry professionals also grade it highly, and this is true of Silver Linings Playbook. I'd say this is a very well-made film, one of the best of the year.

Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper and Jacki Weaver were fantastic. Really, really great. They all deserve to win their Oscar acting categories. Bradley Cooper was especially good. I loved his temperamental aura, which matched his bi-polar character trait. That's real acting. I didn't think Cooper was up to it, but after seeing Silver Linings, I am happy to admit I was wrong. Jennifer Lawrence was good too, but not award-winning level. I actually think any 20-something actress could have played that role. But she did good enough and it made the film click.

I liked the ending. Some parts of it were obvious, with none of it being a surprise, but it played out well enough, and I was glad he didn't choose his wife, the two-timing bitch. I also thought that Chris Tucker was good. He's lost his annoyingly high-pitched voice and is more likeable as a result. The script was great, and the scenes with De Niro in the family setting were absolutely awesome - reminded me so much of the manic atmosphere in our house when all of the family are present. I don't think I'm over-selling this when I say that the script was excellent. I really loved it. Especially Cooper's character, Pat, and De Niro's father character. He was some crazy American Football fan, that's all he cared about, and all Pat cared about was getting to see his wife again, but there was this whole tangled web of agendas in the middle of that. Just a good, likeable, watchable film, and I hope it does well.

I do think that some things weren't perfect, though, like the dancing scene at the end. All of the shots were very close. I would have liked a few lengthy shots at a distance so that we could actually see them dancing. Make them actually learn the damn dances, otherwise you end up with what we received, which was an obvious attempt at deception. The other negative point was the score/music. I think this film was a great opportunity to use some powerful music, but the score was unmemorable for me, apart from the ending which was fine.

In many ways, this film is funnier than outright comedies. I was laughing my ass off at some of the scenes. Off the top of my head, the first running scene with both of them. Some great dialogue. He was just so blunt, and it reminded me of myself, and so I instantly loved the character. All the way until the end, he was brilliant. I'd have liked to know what he said to his wife, but it's not a big deal. It finishes with a typical rom-com ending, but most rom-coms are vacant of emotion and depth (not this one). Silver Linings triumphs because of the layers that the film-makers worked so hard to include in the first two thirds.

A-

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Thu Feb 07, 2013 6:30 am
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
Good review Algren. Agree on the most part. Its an enjoyable film that still packs a punch.

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Thu Feb 07, 2013 6:44 am
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
Argos wrote:
Dr. Lecter wrote:
Yeah, no shit, but then again I can't find even ten movies that portray psychotherapists in a realistic, modern way.

Can you name three?


Probably not no. Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting (as much asnIn don't like that film) is actually a pretty accurate portrayal of a psychoanalyst.

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Thu Feb 07, 2013 7:29 pm
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
My girlfriend sees a therapist. I was alone in a movie theater when I saw SLP, so I texted her some of the ridiculous bullshit from that plotline. She was rolling.


Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:29 am
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
You're an idiot.

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Sat Feb 09, 2013 2:41 am
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
I'm in Mensa. I'm a dick, not an idiot.

I'd like to see the alternate ending where they score a 4.9 and everyone's problems don't magically go away.


Sat Feb 09, 2013 4:47 am
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
You are Max Cady.

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Sat Feb 09, 2013 4:50 am
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
Mitchum or De Niro?


Sat Feb 09, 2013 4:51 am
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook

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Sat Feb 09, 2013 4:53 am
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
The Dark Shape wrote:
I'm in Mensa. I'm a dick, not an idiot.

I'd like to see the alternate ending where they score a 4.9 and everyone's problems don't magically go away.


I mean, maybe I'm a little biased because this film has instantly vaulted onto the list of my all-time favorites, but I don't think the movie establishes that everyone's problems "magically go away" when they win the dance competition and Pat and Tiffany end up together.

The ending was kind of about hope and about how people with problems do still get to be happy. He'll always be bipolar and she'll always be...you know, how she was. But love and support can do a lot.


Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:25 pm
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
The Dark Shape wrote:
I'm in Mensa. I'm a dick, not an idiot.

I'd like to see the alternate ending where they score a 4.9 and everyone's problems don't magically go away.


Its a movie the narrative would have issues. Cmon Shape you are asking a sarcastic movie going persons question with that.

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Sat Feb 09, 2013 2:51 pm
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
Gulli wrote:
The Dark Shape wrote:
I'm in Mensa. I'm a dick, not an idiot.

I'd like to see the alternate ending where they score a 4.9 and everyone's problems don't magically go away.


Its a movie the narrative would have issues. Cmon Shape you are asking a sarcastic movie going persons question with that.


It's a movie that screams to the heavens that it's about mental illness, about people dealing with their problems, and then it ends like any romcom does. If you made an Adam Sandler flick with this premise, it would have the exact same ending, right down to every supporting character showing up at the dance to cheer them on.

I have issues with the film other than that, but my biggest problem is that the film sort of betrays itself to get the big Hollywood swooping-camera kiss moment. (And I think that sort of moment could have worked because of how good Cooper and Lawrence are; but the dance finale makes it a cheat. Their problems just cease to exist so we can skip to that ending.)

People will balk at his style, but Film Crit Hulk is a great writer and he pretty much sums up my thoughts in this article.

In some ways I come down on the ending so harshly because I liked the film up to that point. It was a solid B+, and the last act deflates that a bit.


Sat Feb 09, 2013 3:38 pm
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
Sometimes a movie just needs an entirely happy happy ending.

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Sat Feb 09, 2013 3:41 pm
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
Sure. And sometimes an entirely happy ending is a cheat. If a dark, depressing horror movie where characters have been through hell and lost loved ones ends with everyone smiling, happy, and walking hand-in-hand, it's out of place.

SLP's ending played to me like the latter.


Sat Feb 09, 2013 3:43 pm
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
Did the movie really feel dark and depressing to you at any point?

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Sat Feb 09, 2013 3:58 pm
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Post Re: Silver Linings Playbook
Around the time Cooper had flashbacks to his wife cheating on him and how he almost beat the guy to death and in that moment he hit his mother? Little bit.

I'll defer to Mr. Hulk.

Quote:
HONESTY IS THE CHOSEN DELIVERY DEVICE HERE. AND EVEN WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR, IT'S OFTEN DIFFICULT TO WATCH. BUT THAT'S OKAY, BECAUSE THIS IS A FILM THAT ABSOLUTELY 100% POSITS ITSELF AS BEING ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESS AND IT CONSTANTLY USES THE DISASTROUS REALITIES OF THESE DISEASES AS A STORYTELLING OR PURPOSEFULLY AFFECTING HAMMER.

AND THEN IT DOESN'T ANYMORE.

IN FACT, THE FILM BECOMES SO OVERCOME WITH WHAT HULK WILL CALL "MOVIE-NESS" THAT IT WHOLLY UNDERMINES ITS MODUS OPERANDI ALL TOGETHER. NOW, TO QUALIFY THIS, PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT HULK LOVES MOVIE-NESS. HULK LOVES WONDER AND AWE AND FAMILIAR STORIES AND CONVENTIONALITY, AS LONG AS THEY'RE UPHOLDING THE REASONS WE TELL THOSE KINDS OF CONVENTIONAL STORIES TO BEGIN WITH. THERE'S A CERTAIN MAGIC TO HERO STORIES AND SCREWBALL COMEDIES AND ROMANCES AND EPICS AND OTHER THINGS WHICH ARE 100% REPRESENTATIVE OF CINEMA'S SWEEPING POWER OF ESCAPISM. BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT THERE'S BOTH A VENEER AND UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THESE MOVIES NEED TO WORK IN ORDER FOR THEM TO BE VIABLE. THERE'S AN UNDERSTANDING OF PURPOSE THERE. AND A KEY TO MAKING THESE KINDS OF MOVIES WORK IS TO DEFINE THAT "MOVIE-NESS" FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. YOU TELL THE AUDIENCE "WE ARE ENTERING THIS KIND OF WORLD WHERE STORIES MEAN THIS." ETC. SO THE PROBLEM OF SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK IS THAT IT IS SETTING US UP FOR GRIM REALITY AND SOBRIETY AND THEN JUST THROWS OUT HOLLYWOOD CURE-ALL TACTICS OF LIKEABLE DANCE NUMBERS, SUDDEN CONFESSIONS OF LOVE, IGNORANCE OF PAST CONFLICTS AND EVEN STRICT DISHONESTY. YES THE FILM ALWAYS PROMISED US A TITULAR SILVER LINING, BUT INSTEAD WE GET THE HOOK-LINE-SINKER OF THE GLORIOUS, MAGIC HAPPY ENDING.


Quote:
HELL, THIS IS A MOVIE WHERE ALL THE CHARACTERS GET INTO A ROOM AND ESSENTIALLY INVENT THE STAKES OF THE LAST ACT. AND IT'S A LAST ACT THAT ONLY PAYS OFF IN THE NOTION OF AFFIRMATION AND ALLEVIATION. IT ONLY TELLS US THAT THESE TWO PEOPLE CAN FALL IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER, WHICH IS TOTALLY ONE OF CINEMA'S GREAT AND IMPORTANT PROMISES (READ: HOPE), BUT IF THEY SPENT TWO HOURS TRYING TO CONVINCE HULK HOW PROFOUNDLY FUCKED UP THEY ARE AND HOW THE KEY TO FIXING THEMSELVES IS THROUGH ADDRESSING THE VALID ISSUES AT THE CRUX OF THEIR PERSONALITIES, THEN WHAT IS ACTUALLY BEING SOLVED BY THEIR COMING TOGETHER? HECK, ARE THOSE CENTRAL ISSUES EVEN ADDRESSED IN THE LAST ACT AFTER BEING ADDRESSED SO INTENTLY EARLIER IN THE FILM? NOPE. THEY ARE NOT. AND THEREFORE HULK CAN HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEIR LOVE WILL ULTIMATELY MEAN FOR THEM. WHICH ADMITTEDLY IS OFTEN THE CASE IN THE HAPPILY-EVER-AFTER ENDINGS OF THE "MISFIT LOVE" GENRE, BUT REMEMBER, THIS IS A FILM THAT HAD A MODUS OPERANDI OF UNDERCUTTING LIES WITH GRIM REALITY. IT WAS THE EVEN THE POINT. IT WAS THE FILM'S VOICE. AND IN THE END IT JUST COMPLETELY IGNORES ITSELF TO GIVE INTO THE LIE OF MOVIES.


Sat Feb 09, 2013 4:04 pm
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