I found Silver Linings Playbook to be a profoundly personal and touching film. Marketing for the film failed in that it did not know quite how to label it; is it a Rom-Com, or a film about mental health, dancing, or football? Really it follows Pat, played by Bradley Cooper, as he attempts to adjst to life after a mental breakdown following finding his wife having an affair with another man. Pat is under the process of being diagnost with Bi-Polar disorder and has violent panic attacks. He is obsessed with getting his wife back, which leads him to reading all of her classes syllabus in an effort to understand her. (This causes one of the funniest moments in the film in which he throws A Farewell to Arms out of the window and rants at his unforgiving parents about Hemingway at three in the morning.) His family is worried about him, but are rather awkward about it, as is he; we get a real sense of who this family is. Enter Tiffany, played by Jennifer Lawrence, who is also dealing with her own loss and issues. The two of them are a couple of stray dogs in life, and bond whilst learning a dance routine together.While dealing with all the serious subject matter, however, director David O. Russell is able to entertain and make us laugh. Russell is good at that, look at the Gulf War in Three Kings as another example. The characters are real, flawed, but lovable in their uniqueness.
Silver Linings, however, felt imbalanced at times, the first half concentrating on more
of the mental health elements, then it devolves into more Rom-Com fair at the
end. I also felt like the Chris Tucker character, and especially the
Police/Parole officer, didn’t have a big payoff in the film. Those are my only
major criticisms of the film, and it is definitely unique and touching so easily forgivable.
Watching Pat and Tiffany's interactions are the most enjoyable parts of the
film. They have chemistry, but they are awkward; or we could say authentic. They are awkward with
everyone they are around, but in the beginning they are extremely awkward with
each other. They have ideological debates, albeit subtly, that stem from their
characters. Pat former relationship had a lot of repressed sexuality, whereas
Tiffany deals with her husband’s death by sleeping around. Pat and Tiffany
would seemingly not be an ideal match, but they are. They need each other,
because they are not only so different from each other, but they are different
from other people as well. It is also how they overcome their differences,
shown largely in the movie through them learning a “dance” routine, they grow
together, learn to communicate with each other, and respect/love one another.
Pat sticks up for Tiffany by driving away people Tiffany has slept with, so she
can heal. Tiffany gives Pat structure he needs and also lies to him about
contacting his estranged wife, thereby giving incentive so he can willingly be
apart of the dance routine and thus the structure.
Pat’s father, played wonderfully by Robert DeNiro has OCD and
is obsessed with football. His mother is an enabler,
helping to get Pat out of the hospital he was in, even though the Doctor’s feeling
he wasn’t yet ready. Pat and his father don’t know how to interact with each
other, but they try, mostly in the form of football and lucky charms. Some of
the most heartbreaking scenes are with Pat’s family. They genuinely care for
Pat, and Pat loves them back, but they are on different frequencies and don’t
fully understand nor communicate with each other.
Literally, I cried more throughout this film than I did Les Miserables. Not that the two compare, but for me, it has more to
do with striking close to home. Pat has a certain kind of helplessness, in
inability to communicate properly, or get too hyped up emotionally which
estranges his self from those around him. But the movie is happy, there is hope
for Pat. He is a good person, and he tries. He makes a playbook to follow, and
tries to find the silver linings in his life.
2.) The Dark Knight Rises
Written by Christopher and Jonathon Nolan. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Christian Bale, Michael Cane, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, and Marion Cottilard.
It really is a story about moving on. Bruce Wayne is stuck
on his dead ex-girlfriend living holed up in his manor busy not being Batman,
but wishing he was. Bruce Wayne is built on the idea of not getting over his
parents death. This leads into very Film Noirish ideas of the past, that the
best times are behind us and not being able to enjoy the moment or move on.
This, of course, a very bleak world view. I found it very disturbing of our
times/culture that so many people wanted Bruce Wayne to die in this movie
before it’s release, and so happy that they were let down. While I belong to
the Christian denomination, it seems terribly wrong that we demand the death of
our heroes.
With the entrance of Bane Bruce has an excuse to be Batman
once more, but he quickly finds he is not match for Bane. Alfred pleads with
him that he cannot stand against Bane, that he is not strong enough, stating he
buried Bruce’s parents and he won’t stand idly by and watch Bruce be buried as
well. Alfred sets in motion the direction that Bruce will ultimately have to undergo-
that he needs to let go of the past, and Batman, and find a reason to live.
The ending has surrounded some controversy for some, but I
believe it is simple and straightforward. After Batman has regained his
strength and defeated Bane he is left with the ticking bomb that will decimate
Gotham, so he ties it to his helicopter like “Bat.” We watch Bruce fly off and
with him in it as the bomb goes off in the ocean. Earlier we are told that the
Bat has a guidance system that can fly itself but it is faulty and cannot be
used. Then a mechanic tells us that it was indeed fixed and operable, before
Alfred sees Bruce in a Café in France. The major problem of the film was
Nolan’s over usage of “Montage”- by that I mean the cutting of footage in away
that does not resemble continuous time. If Bruce had indeed jumped out and swam
back at the last second the radiation fallout would’ve killed him. Obviously he
jumped out beforehand, but the cutting of footage would lead us to believe it
would be later. For suspense film often changes space and time to have an
emotional build up.
The movie would have been worthless had Bruce of died. This
is, in my opinion, the most hope filled movie in Nolan’s canon. Most of his
movies are about the obsessive male chasing after something to such an extreme
that it destroys him to some level. Inception
is the next closest movie, but it is so ambiguous in the end that it is
subjective as to whether Inception a
hopeful movie. Bruce is told earlier in the film that not fearing death is one
thing, but he has to find a reason to live to defeat Bane. While saving Gotham
is certainly a noble and Batman reason to live on, I believe that Bruce wants
to make his parents happy, and thus Alfred. Another way he moves on is
forgetting about his dead ex, who was a horrible match for him. Selina Kyle is
a better match, and seeing Bruce with her definitely, I believe is another
growth for Bruce.
There is a lot more I would like to say about Rises, but will constrain myself for now to why I have placed it on my top ten list. Hopefully I can write a greater review, and refute the claims of others of "flaws" of the film, and why it should not be perceived as a work of art.
3.) Lincoln
Adapted by Tony Kushner. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Starring Daniel Day Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and James Spader.
Rather than tell a full story of the life of Abraham
Lincoln, Steven Spielberg instead chose to tell the story of passing of the 13th
amendment. The movie is much more enthralling than it sounds, if you give it a
chance. Those of us that have studied history know that the 13th
amendment was, indeed, passed. Yet the political intrigue that we are given in
the movie is so wonderfully told that he becomes suspenseful. In the climax of
the film, as Congress is voting to pass the amendment, I became worried if
enough members would support the amendment; and then I thought to myself why am
I worried, it obviously passes. Yet, I was afraid, it was enough for me to
doubt my memory of the studies of the amendment; perhaps it did not pass then
but at another time.
Daniel Day Lewis was Lincoln, it is hard to think of him as
Lewis in the film, but only as his character. His posture, composure, and those
wonderful stories, he tells at the most appropriate-sometimes odd- moments, are
all so wonderful. He brings a wonderful intensity at the right moments when he
is trying to convince members of his cabinet to side with him on the issue of
the amendment. Then there is the supporting cast. I have to question the worth
of having Joseph Gordon Levitt, while I appreciate him as an actor, did not
bring much to the film. Tommy Lee Jones and James Spader, however, made their characters
as well. This maybe perhaps one of Jones’s greatest roles in his career-which
already has a fine resume. His role as
Thaddeus Stevens, the radical republican, shows how this country works through
compromise. He wants absolute rights for African-Americans, which is noble and
true, but Lincoln has to reason with him that it should just be freedom for the
time, and that the amendment cannot be as fleshed out as much as Stevens would
like.
Otherwise Congress would have voted it down, and there would have been no 13th amendment. Watching the growth of the two characters for me was the highlight of the film, as they try to reason with each other. It is a good lesson for anybody with more radical tendencies to learn to be more mature and understand the virtue of compromise, for without it, the United States would never have been made, (although that is a history lesson for another time.)
Otherwise Congress would have voted it down, and there would have been no 13th amendment. Watching the growth of the two characters for me was the highlight of the film, as they try to reason with each other. It is a good lesson for anybody with more radical tendencies to learn to be more mature and understand the virtue of compromise, for without it, the United States would never have been made, (although that is a history lesson for another time.)
Spader plays a lobbyist trying to buy and bribe votes from
Congressmen, which brings humor to the film. A great scene is when in the
middle of a talk with one Congressman at a table the representative pulls a gun
out and means to aim it at Spader who throws his portfolio at him to get away
causing the representative to misfire, getting away and then coming back for
his papers. He has seriousness for his work, but a detachment all at the same
time, like a slacker who cares only when things get truly grim and his meal
ticket maybe threatened.
Spielberg has shown time and time again that he is fully
capable of more mature fare, and hopefully Lincoln
will allow him to continue to make more films like this, instead of rehashing
past films and formulas. He has been criticized for The Color Purple, Schindler’s
List, and Amistad. While they
have been held in a certain revere in most circles, they still lack the
critical and popular attention that they should have received because Spielberg
receives unwarranted bias for being a blockbuster and popular filmmaker.
Most critics have felt Bruce Willis steals the show as the communities Police Officer, but I felt that it was Edward Norton who steals it, as the Scout Master in charge of young Sam as he escapes. He has a real, well, boy scout persona that is genuine and funny.
The underground world of this Scouting troop on the cluster of islands in New England also helped to make this hilarious world. Normally I dislike the cliche of children acting as grown adults, but watching the children here act out melodramtically was definitely the best parts of the film. Jason Schwartzman's role as a black market dealer at the massive Scout rally made me like him finally. That such a shady adult would be dealing with children is so hilarious because of its somewhat disturbing nature.
Now while I have seen several other standout films: Prometheus, Cabin in the Woods, Avengers, the Master, the Life of Pi; I feel the need to end my list here. Perhaps I will add the Master or Pi as I continue to reflect on them, and I may add more as I continue to watch more films, but for the time being I feel a need to end the list here with six. Hopefully Zero Dark Thirty will prove worthy enough to be added into the slots.
4.) Moonrise Kindgom
My greatest regret for Moonrise Kingdom was that I never saw it twice in the theatre. Wes Anderson's tale of childhood love is wonderful and magical. Two children, Sam and Suzy, who decide to runaway together, both from broken homes, camp out and "love" each other the way that they understand it. Of course they do not have realistic or mature understanding about it, and it is for them mostly about mimicking what they know from other adults and entertainment. They are able to send an entire community on the lookout for them. Anderson's characters have a lot of heart to them.Most critics have felt Bruce Willis steals the show as the communities Police Officer, but I felt that it was Edward Norton who steals it, as the Scout Master in charge of young Sam as he escapes. He has a real, well, boy scout persona that is genuine and funny.
The underground world of this Scouting troop on the cluster of islands in New England also helped to make this hilarious world. Normally I dislike the cliche of children acting as grown adults, but watching the children here act out melodramtically was definitely the best parts of the film. Jason Schwartzman's role as a black market dealer at the massive Scout rally made me like him finally. That such a shady adult would be dealing with children is so hilarious because of its somewhat disturbing nature.
5.) Argo
- I used to hate Ben Affleck because I was jealous of what I perceived of being undue attention from Hollywood and all the pretty ladies I knew. Now I hate him because of his due attention. For there being little action, or gunfire, Affleck is able to create a wonderful historically set thriller. Like Lincoln, you may know the outcome of the end of the film but Affleck's direction will live you worried of the ending.6.) Skyfall
- Never have I wanted to see a Bond film because I thought it was pretty until Skyfall. It is gorgeous. There is something terribly lonely about it too. You never think Auteur/artistic cinema and Bond in the same sentence, but with Sam Mendes direction now we do.Now while I have seen several other standout films: Prometheus, Cabin in the Woods, Avengers, the Master, the Life of Pi; I feel the need to end my list here. Perhaps I will add the Master or Pi as I continue to reflect on them, and I may add more as I continue to watch more films, but for the time being I feel a need to end the list here with six. Hopefully Zero Dark Thirty will prove worthy enough to be added into the slots.
