By Esther Lee–

The proverb, “Every cloud has a silver lining,” means that in any bad situation, there is some good that comes out of it. Silver Linings Playbook was a well crafted movie about two people in search of the good in the terrible — their silver linings.

Directed by David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook” was adapted from a novel with the same name by Matthew Quick. The movie was first showed at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 8, 2012 and was released in the US and UK on Nov. 21.

“Silver Linings Playbook” revolves around Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) who was recently released from a state institution after being there for eight months. He lost everything in all aspects of his life: his job, his house and most importantly, his wife. Even under tough circumstances, Pat was determined to get his feet back on the ground and regain everything he had lost by staying positive. In the midst of his silver lining search, Pat met Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who was always dealing with her own problems. Tiffany offered to help Pat reconnect with his ex-wife in exchange for his help. As they continued to help each other, they started to form a bond, one that revealed to be their silver lining.

“Silver Linings Playbook” overcame the cliché of two people with respective problems that were solved because of the other person. The plot of the movie was well written and had great script. It felt pretty realistic as the development of the plot was fairly slow. Although this showed the gradually growing bond amongst the two protagonists, there was a slight drag throughout the movie. But in the great scheme of things, this allowed the audience to grow to care and love for Pat and Tiffany. Overall, “Silver Linings Playbook’ was a feel good movie that could confront the unfair and tough aspects of life.

Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence proved themselves again as spectacular actors. Cooper perfectly played out Pat’s bipolar disorder which showed his desperation and anger for the reunification with his wife. Lawrence played the perfect Tiffany who displayed a front as a strong independent woman but cried out for company. “The Hangover” star and “The Hunger Games” survivor had great chemistry. The two of them worked very well. And of course, the other members of the cast including  Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Anupam Kher, Julia Stiles and Chris Tucker were amazing.

The movie has an underlying heavy and dark theme that an older audience would understand and thus, appreciate. “Silver Linings Playbook” portray the extremes of internal difficulties that were overcome. As the audience, we lived through their lives as this occured through their perspectives.  Also, the development of the story was slow, which could be boring for some.

“Silver Linings Playbook” was chaming, funny at its moments and classy. Even though you know that Pat and Tiffany eventually meet their silver lining, the movie carried its merits through their journey to find it. Simply put, “Silver Linings Playbook” was a believable, good movie.

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Photo courtesy The Weinstein Company