Movie Review: Silver Linings Playbook

Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Written and directed by: David O. Russell
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver

Like the screwball films of the 1930s -- after which Silver Linings Playbook is styled -- the jam-packed script of director David O. Russell's latest oddity is rife with loose narrative threads that all ultimately tie together neatly in the end.

A festival darling, winning the People's Choice Award at this years Toronto International Film Festival, Silver Linings Playbook has received overwhelming support in critics circles. Applauded for its unique quirkiness, the film is based on a novel by Matthew Quick and manages to balance its darker themes with moments of levity.

When Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) is released from a mental health facility he returns to his childhood home to live with his parents (Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver). Diagnosed as bipolar, Pat was hospitalized after discovering his wife in the shower with a work colleague and nearly beating the man to death. After countless therapy sessions, Pat has learned to rein in his mood swings and bouts of violent rages -- for the most part. Pat wants to be reunited with his now-ex-wife and vows that nothing will stand in his way, including a pesky restraining order. He believes a reconciliation with his wife is his "shot at a silver lining", as he often says. When his old friends (John Ortiz and Julia Stiles) invite him over for dinner one night to celebrate his homecoming Pat is introduced to Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a young widow with personal issues of her own. As the two bond over medications and moments of depression, the two recognize a spark and embark on a rocky friendship that involves Pat trying to win back his ex-wife and a high-stakes ballroom dance competition.

In a rare dramatic lead role, Cooper has established himself as a fine actor and more than just another pretty Hollywood face. His mature performance as Pat carries a large portion of the emotional heft in the film. He even works through the melodramatic bits to create full-fledged character living on the brink; a man trying to thread his life together.

However, as solid as Cooper is in the lead role, the film greatly benefits from the standout performance of Lawrence as the grieving widow. Playing a character much older than her actual 22 years, Lawrence instills Tiffany with complex emotions that are just brimming beneath the surface. She's liable to just go off at any moment, but Lawrence brings a touching fragility to her sharp-tongued incarnation of Tiffany. She's just as lost, in not more so, than Pat. If there is one thing you'll remember after watching Silver Linings Playbook, it's her bold performance.

In a supporting role, Robert DeNiro is back in top form, portraying Pat's football-loving father who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorders but who loves his family, no matter how dysfunctional. And Jacki Weaver gives a lovely performance as the family matriarch who just wants her loved ones to be alright.

Where the film suffers at times is in its meandering plot. There are moments when the narrative struggles to stay afloat on a very thin premise. But, thanks to a cathartic, albeit cliched, ballroom dance finale, Russell's film manages to straddle multiple genres while telling an intriguing, emotional story. Despite some issues with the script, Silver Linings Playbook is an actors film, one that allows them room to breath and create unique characters that pull you into the story.

FINAL GRADE: B+

Movie Review: The Hunger Games

Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth

The Hunger Games (2012)
Directed by: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Stanley Tucci, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Wes Bentley, Liam Hemsworth and Donald Sutherland

Like Harry Potter and Twilight before it, The Hunger Games struck a raw nerve with teens around the world. Like its predecessors, it flew off bookshelves -- and all despite lacking a supernatural element like wizards or vampires as a selling point.

Author Suzanne Collins set her trilogy in a dystopian future where one teenage boy and one teenage girl from each of the 12 districts in the nation of Panem are forced into a fight to the death -- literally, with only one left standing. The purpose? To prevent future rebellions and uprisings against the government by keeping younger generations in line. It's Battle Royale and Stephen King's The Long Walk for the tween set. It's premise is arguably darker than the other two recent teen book series combined and, for the film adaptations to do justice to the world Collins created, they would have to translate that dark subject matter onto the screen.

Does the first installment succeed? Mostly.

Director Gary Ross opts for a documentary-style technique that gives the film a more naturalistic atmosphere. You feel as though you are right behind 16-year-old heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) as she embarks on her violent mission. Whether he's panning over the war-ravaged lands of District 12 or coming in for tight close-ups of frightened young faces, Ross succeeds in translating the atmosphere of fear and paranoia in a heavily policed state.

The first half of the film is especially gripping to watch -- whether you've read the novels or not, the slow revelation of life in Panem is thrillingly revealed. I found myself more intrigued by Katniss' rigid Games training and her life with her mother, younger sister and close friend, Gale (Liam Hemsworth) than with anything that happened in the latter half. Ross and his crew managed to convey their way of life with very little description.

It's unlikely that anyone could have filled to role of Katniss as capably as Lawrence. The Oscar-nominated actress gives a mature performance, perfectly balancing her character's head-strong resilience and resourcefulness in the face of danger while subtly revealing Katniss' inner vulnerabilities. It's a casting coup for Ross and his team and she more than capably carries the weight of the film on her shoulders.

Elizabeth Banks and Jennifer Lawrence

For the most part, the rest of the cast fares just as well as Lawrence, specifically Stanley Tucci as outlandish talk show host Caesar Flickerman and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss' trainer and a former survivour (winner?) of The Hunger Games.

A few of the other supporting characters fare less well in underwritten roles. There's little to be said of Seneca (Wes Bentley), the curiously bearded overseer of the Games, or the equally strange Effie (Elizabeth Banks). The rest of the ensemble cast is rounded out by Donald Sutherland as the ill-intentioned President Snow and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, Katniss' fellow District 12 tribute.

What holds the film back is Ross' apparent reluctance to take the premise all the way and truly run with the concept. Granted, film censorship would have slapped the film with a higher rating had there been more violence and mature themes; however, it's a gamble that likely would have still paid off due to the popularity of the series. Instead the second half of the film drags for stretches, slowly the action down to a near standstill at points.

The Hunger Games could have benefited more from being just as dark, dangerous and daring as Collins' novels. But, with the wonderful Lawrence in the lead role, this series has staying power.

FINAL GRADE: B+

Movie Review: Winter's Bone

Winter's Bone (2010)
Directed By: Debra Granik
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes

This Oscar-nominated film has been on the indie circuit for months, touted as a little gem that audiences should make a point of watching. The fact that it was remembered at this years Academy Awards (for Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor) was deemed a testament to its quality. Word-of-mouth and film festival accolades kept up the momentum of Debra Granik's Winter's Bone. 


Set in the Ozark Mountains, 17-year-old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) must track down her drug-addicted father in order to save the family home. Having posted the family house as collateral for his bail, but nowhere to be found, Ree's father is rumoured to have turned snitch, turning in both his fellow drug dealers and customers to the police. As a result, Ree is met with resistance and violence at every turn as she questions the locals about the whereabouts of her father. Her uncle Teardrop (John Hawkes) steps up to help her in her quest, while also fearing for his own life as well.

The plot is simplistic in tone and structure. It plays it completely straight-forward: what you see is what you get. Granik provides a documentary-style raw quality, using both intimate camera angles and wider shots that allow the audience to see the full extent of poverty and hardship one must endure when living in the Ozarks. In terms of visuals, Winter's Bone has that grainy, blue-hued quality often found in films depicting hardship in poor living conditions and it works well. The frame is filled with discarded trash, broken toys, dirty children and abandoned houses. Nothing is held back. Living there is not easy -- for anyone.

I would imagine that few people in the audience would be able to relate to such a rough-around-the-edges lifestyle, yet nothing about the film allows you to try to understand it or see humanity in it. With the exception of Ree, no one is likeable or even remotely relatable. It feels so very strange and foreign.

Going into Winter's Bone, I expected a film along the lines of True Grit: young girl on a family-related quest and accompanied by an older male. However, very little actually happens in Winter's Bone. Instead of travelling great distances and learning about her strength and independence as a young woman forced to raise her siblings alone, Ree simply goes door-to-door in her neighbouring area. She meets violent thugs and resentful women who all proceed to push her around. When her father's fate is finally revealed to her, Ree doesn't deal with the emotional repercussions. The revelation is dealt with swiftly (albeit somewhat disturbingly), before moving on to the next scene. What have we learned, other than that living in the Ozark Mountains is tough and probably not highly recommended?

This isn't like Lost in Translation, a "film about nothing" that was, on the contrary, quite powerful and lead by two compelling characters. Lost in Translation was actually about quite a lot. Winter's Bone, on the other hand, truly felt like it wasn't about anything. In fact, the only scene that I felt touched a raw nerve was the scene where Ree tries to enlist in the army simply so that she can collect the $40,000 entry reward. She just wants to save her house and feed her younger siblings. She innocently thought she'd be allowed to take her brother and sister with her to an army reserve to train. It's a heartbreaking scene that illustrates how the military can prey on the young and poor to fight their nations' battles. But, this was only one scene and I was left feeling like the rest of film was empty.

Lawrence and Hawkes were both strong in their roles as Ree and Teardrop, respectively, but I would argue that neither are worthy of an Oscar nomination. There were far more powerful and memorable performances this year that were neglected and I couldn't help feeling like their nominations were a bit of a waste. Both are great actors, especially Hawkes, but perhaps they will be in a better film one day that is more worthy of their talents.

Overall, I was left confused as to all the hype surrounding Winter's Bone. I found it average and, ultimately, pointless. The minute the end credits appeared, I thought, 'That was it?'  Don't fall for all the accolades, this one is a bit of a dud.

FINAL GRADE: C+