Silver linings playbook

Disclaimer: The reason i choose to review this film among so many others that i saw recently is not because i liked the film better than the rest. It just that this film aligns itself with a though that had been with me for sometime now and i wanted to share it.


Silver Linings Playbook is a romantic comedy film wherein the hero suffers from bipolar disorder and the heroine is a sex addict, both coming out of a broken relationship and trying to cope up with their lives. The story works sheerly because it is made to work through many small small sub plots and quirkiness of its actors. Jennifer Lawrence is a brilliant actress and seeing Anupam Kher was a treat as well, at least for me.

Silver Lining Playbook also extends the boundary of Romantic films. In reality, the only movies that work in this genre are the ones that go outside the box. Gone are the days where rich girl/poor boy made a good story. The early formula of young birds falling in love but family against it, inter-caste affairs, inter-color relationships have all been explored and gone. All that was for a generation earlier. Our generation brought its new complexities, Jerry Maguire explored the theme of two co-working adults drawing towards one another, one of them was also a single parent. You've got mail extended the boundary wherein people feel in love on internet.  Romantic relationship between adults sharing workspace, in competing workspace (Mr. & Mrs Smith etc), in matchmaking business (Hitch etc) are also coming to a closure. The truth is that in order to make a fresh, genuine romantic film, it has to go into further niche segments and explore what true relationship is all about. If it means extending the boundary or to come up with quirky situations, it has to be done.

 Silver linings Playbook works because it simply keeps the chassis of a romantic comedy film, the three part structure - (a) The initial meetup where girl/guy does not get along or are hesitant to break the barrier (b) They do get along but there is some issue (c) Everything is well in the end.  Other than these three pillars, SLP fills the details in a completely unique way, something that none of us can think off and what gets it going is just our curiosity on how the story will match each pillar as it unfolds.

While at the subject of romantic comedies, i think a film that i would call romantic but it breaks the three pillar definition are the Before Sunset/Before Sunrise movies of Richard Linklater. There are so many movies about romance but so few on cynicism while both these are so related to each other. Richard Linklater brings these two together to create his masterpieces and leaves it to audience.


Bollywood still has to learn its lessons. It is still living in the early days, remaking classics, same wine in a new bottle, but the bottle has to change and the wine in it as well. Amal is a great example of how it could be done - layer the wine with cheese, add more flavors to it.  The days of same old crap may not be over at box office but they will be soon once the sheen is off.


Back to SLP, watch it for Jennifer Lawrence and some really sensible directing. It gets a 3.5 out of 5 stars in my world.