A Retrospective Silver Lining
I watched Silver Linings Playbook again over the weekend, which was only my second full viewing of the film since it came out in the UK last November. My question is this; did it really deserve all the hype it received?
Low budget indie films with big names are largely successful, which more often than not is generated by a strong cast and a story worth investing your time in. For example, Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine. With Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in the lead roles, the already powerful screenplay was accelerated by their impeccable acting skills. It offered deep emotional investment for the audience and an authenticity to its honesty that the majority of people were able to associate with on some level. It’s this kind of independent film lead by a strong cast and a valiant, yet unknown, director that makes people sit up and listen. The increasing anticipation for Cianfrance’s follow up (also starring Ryan Gosling), The Place Beyond the Pines is testament enough to that.
However, there are the occasional films that fall completely flat. Enter Take This Waltz, which starred Michelle Williams, Seth Rogan and Sarah Silverman and was written and directed by Sarah Polley (Dawn of the Dead, Splice and a whole bunch of other rubbish films). But, one must have faith in the actors own faith towards the directors. Regardless of Rotten Tomatoes and MetaCritic will tell you otherwise, this film was pretty awful, and it’s not often I find myself turning a film off, but the woeful, drippy acting from Michelle Williams combined with the painfully quirky, nonsensical dialogue made my skin crawl. Horrible writing, atrocious acting and ghastly directing made this a huge thumbs down for me. Not every film can be saved by its cast, it seems.
Silver Linings Playbook ticks all the boxes straight away. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper triumphantly play the leads Pat and Tiffany, two young souls with overarching psychological bruising. That’s surely enough to get your heart pumping, but throw in Robert De Niro, Chris Tucker and Jackie Weaver and you’re left standing in a puddle of your own drool. With David O’ Russell in the driving seat and drawing from his own personal experience (his son is bipolar), this was always a sure fire recipe for success. The writing is honest and deep, and the acting is splendid on all fronts. Not only did it succeed in the way it addresses the subjects of depression, OCD, delusion and bipolar, but it managed to weave in an unconventional love story, an emotional family drama and enough comedic moments to leave you laughing at even the most inappropriate moments.
The awards this film deserved were for its adapted screenplay and for the legendary De Niro. Don’t get me wrong, a win for Lawrence was an outstanding achievement for her (especially at her age). She portrayed Tiffany’s tragic darkness beautifully, but can you honestly say she was better than Emmanuelle Riva’s painful and heart breaking dominance in Amour? Exactly. After all, this was an award for best acting and she simply wasn’t the best actor in her category this time. Out of the four big names that were in this film, Weaver, De Niro and Cooper overshadowed her, and at times, I found her to be overstimulated. Bradley Cooper could have stood a chance if it wasn’t for Daniel Day Lewis Lincoln-ing everywhere.
In answer to my original question, retrospectively, I think it did. After I first saw it, I was surprised at the recognition it was receiving despite the relentlessness of the Weinsteins. I thought it was good, but as far as indie-romance flicks go, I felt like I had seen better (mainly the aforementioned Blue Valentine). Saying that, after a second viewing, weeks after the Oscars, I feel like it is really something special. It tackled some tough issues, it didn’t try to be quirky or whimsical, it was intelligent and thought provoking. All the while maintaining some humour and providing a happy ending. Silver Linings Playbook harks back to the truly great mini-productions of previous years like Clerks, The Royal Tenenbaums or more recently, Little Miss Sunshine. These films don’t try and fool the audience into thinking that we live in a world shrouded in rainbows and fluffy clouds, and they don’t treat us like idiots either. They conduct themselves with intelligent dialogue, superior acting; the only quirkiness emitted being through their music.
Hopefully, assumed irritating indie-quirkiness will subside and films like Greenberg and Take This Waltz will plummet down the drain they currently circle leaving movies like Another Earth to be saved from featuring an airy fairy, weak protagonist. Self-destructive female leads are nothing but annoying when a film shows so much promise as Another Earth did. A a shame seeing as Brit Marling is actually quite an interesting actress.
The silver lining is that the good outweighs the bad and the population within the indie film market is growing. If we all just ignore Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, then hopefully he will disappear and 2014 will be free of Charlotte Gainsbourg’s naked form.
Apart from that, this year promises some real treats. Keep your eyes peeled for Mud (Jeff Nichols follow up to Take Shelter), Upstream Colour (Shane Curruth’s follow up to Primer) and of course, The Place Beyond The Pines.