Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

The contenders for this years Best Picture Oscar were a curious mix: there were two films about slavery, one a severely elegant biopic; the other a gruesome experiment in comic violence Tarantino style. There were two films about secret agents attempting to infiltrate dangerous Middle Eastern countries, with Ben Affleck and Jessica Chastain respectively taking the roles of the all American heroes in Argo and Zero Dark Thirty. But there was only one film that juxtaposed mental illness, football and a dance competition.

It was difficult to know what to expect from Silver Linings Playbook. A comedy in which Bradley Cooper (of The Hangover fame) plays a man suffering from bipolar disorder might seem on the surface to be a difficult sell. Yet the presence of Jennifer Lawrence on any promotional material must now be enough the fill the seats. It's not every 22 year old actress who can earn an Oscar nomination from something as bleakly powerful as Winter's Bone and then step into the role of Katniss Everdeen (with only a very small slip up the stairs to collect her Academy award). She shines, or rather pouts her way to perfection, in the role of Tiffany Maxwell, the neurotic and promiscuous widow who teaches Cooper's Pat Solitano how he might start to live again after losing what seems like everything. The bargain they strike is this: she will contact his estranged wife for him if he agrees to be her partner in an upcoming dance contest. Neither of them is especially rhythmically gifted and the rehearsal scenes afford some of the biggest laughs.

The reason for this film's success is undoubtedly the standard of acting on display. David O' Russel's cast is sublimely chosen, with Robert De Niro putting in a particularly funny yet touching turn as Pat's equally unhinged father. The small, neurotic tics that make up the patchwork of every character subtly show how fine the line between sanity and madness ultimately is and it is left to the viewer to make the final diagnosis. The burgeoning friendship between Pat and Tiffany is handled very well by Cooper and Lawrence, who both manage to strike the right note between humour and unease in their portrayal of a relationship that only makes sense to those inside it. A 'date' scene in the local diner results in Lawrence morphing from a stance of slightly cold aloofness into a full on display of violent hysteria, at which Cooper seems, like us, both amused and rather frightened.

In a way, this film perhaps suffers in part from the size of its ambitions. It tries to be edgy, meaningful and light-hearted simultaneously, which creates some problems in working out a conclusion that justifies its premise. Yet it is certainly entertaining, and repeatedly succeeds in managing its balancing act with dexterity, humanity and class. One of the best, and most honest, films of the year: I would have given it Argo's Oscar.