Silver Linings Playbook

I have been working on this a long time since I read the book and saw the movie, so I'm going to write about the movie because it has had a wider impact and I'm slightly in love with Jennifer Lawrence.  There are going to be spoiler alerts, so if you haven't seen it, stop reading now.

First the quick synopsis and then the break down!  Silver Linings Playbook is about a man named, Pat (Bradley Cooper), who just gets out of the mental hospital after an 8 month stay for attacking his wife's lover because he was undiagnosed bipolar.  Pat's parents have custody of Pat and have to help him cope by going therapy and taking his medication.  Pat is determined to get his wife, Nikki back, but Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence).  Tiffany is a young woman, whose husband died and she has had a difficult time dealing with his death.  Pat and Tiffany make a deal to help each other out.  Tiffany by delivering letters to Nikki and Pat by being Tiffany's partner for a dance competition.  Through spending time with each other, they help each other get better and fall in love.

I have to say that I loved this film so much because it reflected my own life on so many levels.  I related the most to Tiffany because depression takes so much away and then we have to find some way to overcome the sadness after the self destructive period.  Tiffany found dance and I write.  I also really understood what she meant that she does everything for other people and then gets nothing in return.  I feel like I do that too.  I do a lot of things for people and then I get nothing.  Maybe I'm naive or maybe I'm too giving and then people take advantage of that.

I enjoyed the way the Bradley Cooper played Pat because you can see the fight in his eyes and yet the confusion.  He doesn't want to be crazy and sad, but there are times that he is convinced that he doesn't need the medications.  I do know some people who suffer from bipolar disorder and some are convinced that they can control it without medication.  All disorders are unpredictable and even managed people can still have episodes.  He eventually comes back to reality and realizes that he got what he needed not what he wanted.  He got Tiffany because that's who he needed.

This film can be very raw and shows the symptoms of both depression and bipolar disorder.  It is great that it has created a dialog on mental illness because people who suffer from these conditions are not just a label.  We struggle and we try, but sometimes we mess things up and fail.  It also reminded me a lot of me and him and yet I hold out hope that one day we can both be fixed and that we both can have a happy life.

Silver Linings Playbook was a fantastic film with great portrayals that I highly recommend to everyone.