Film Review: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (2012)

Director: David O. Russell
Writers: David O. Russell (screenplay), Matthew Quick (novel “The Silver Linings Playbook”)
Running time: 118 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
UK Release date: 21^st November 2012

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 22^nd September 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I wasn’t sure about this one before watching it. I’m quite wary of popular American comedies; I have fallen foul of their evil (and terribly unfunny) ways before. Even as I began to watch I was afraid it was going to be a big mistake, but as it transpired, there was little to worry about. The film actually does have a heart and I found I finally could connect with the characters by the end. I will tell you more after this very brief summary.

When Pat (Bradley Cooper) is released from a mental institution he has made several decisions about his life. Not least of which was to do everything he could to patch things up with his wife, Nikki (Brea Bee). But she’s not all that an important character right now, as will be revealed. His parents, Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro) and Dolores (Jacki Weaver) are supportive but have their own troubles. Pat Sr. has lost his pension and has begun taking bets in order to make ends meet. He’s obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles and sees Pat as some kind of lucky omen. But while out for a meal with friends Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who is widowed and also has emotional problems. She can get a message to Nikki, who has a restraining order out on Pat, but she wants something in return. And I think I’ll leave it there; that should be enough to give you a flavour.

I found it a little hard to get into at first with Bradley Cooper over-acting in places, which was beginning to put me off. The introduction of Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) though changed all that and the narrative began to make more sense. All the performances were excellent with (for me) Jennifer Lawrence standing out. Yes, I know De Niro is there but he’s really not a major character although he does play his part very well. Bradley Cooper was good, but no better really than I have seen him before. The action is littered with an awful lot of music, some I was familiar with and some not so much; all of it fitted the visuals well though and it made for a welcome enhancement to the entertainment. Over all I found it a well rounded romantic comedy (with some drama thrown in for good measure) and just a twist of quirkiness. It even touched me on an emotional level (a rare thing these days) so it gets a pretty high recommendation from me.

SteelMonster’s verdict: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

My score: 8.3/10.

IMDb Score: 7.9/10 (based on 266,428 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045658/

MetaScore: 81/100: (Based on 45 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 92/100: (based on 299 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 87/100: (based on 233,762 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/silver_linings_playbook/

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LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://silverliningsplaybookmovie.com/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Silver-Linings-Playbook/453807761317648
Trailer:

Film Review: THE FIGHTER (2010)

Director: David O. Russell
Running time: 116 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Biography/Drama/Sport
UK Release date: 2^nd February 2011

Watched on DVD Sunday 2^nd October 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Since several friends of mine have recommended this movie, and since one of them even leant me the DVD, I thought I’d better give it a look. Well, it makes a nice change to say they were correct on this occasion, it’s a tremendous film! I really enjoyed it and have no problem in recommending it (yes, I liked it that much I’ll recommend it in the first paragraph). I’ll tell you why after this brief summary.

Micky Ward is a boxer, not a very successful one when we meet him, but a boxer nonetheless. His half-brother, Dicky Eklund, on the other hand, once had a fight for the world title against Sugar Ray Leonard. As we begin, Dicky is supposed to be training Micky, but he’s late… he’s always late. A film crew are making a documentary about Dicky, a documentary about the effects of crack addiction. Yes, Dicky has a habit and yet none of his family is prepared to do anything about it. His mother, Alice, who runs the family with an iron fist, refuses to recognise it, as does her husband, George Ward and his many sisters (too many to mention). Micky meets a girl, Charlene Fleming and they start to see each other, she is strong-willed, just like his mother, and you can see conflict coming. When Dicky gets locked up Charlene persuades Micky to go with a different manager and trainer. It pays off and Micky gets on the road to success… but how will his family react? I’ll leave it there because I don’t want the Spoiler Police breaking my fingers.

The plot of this film is a great family drama, and what makes it better is that it’s based on a true story. The critics were all over Christian Bale’s performance and he did indeed walk away with the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Dicky Eklund. Also worthy of note was Melissa Leo who also won the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her take on the domineering mother, Alice Ward. Personally, I was surprised that Mark Wahlberg didn’t even get a nomination for his role of Micky Ward and I have to also give a mention to Amy Adams as Charlene Fleming, who I thought was also great.

I find that sometimes films based on true stories tend to over-dramatise events and in doing so lose the essence of the story. I don’t think that is true in this case, they are very much ‘larger than life’ characters and that’s just how they are portrayed. I did find it ironic though that ‘Irish’ Micky Ward had to fight an Irishman for one of his big fights. I noticed the filmmakers made him a not very nice Irishman though. But enough of that, I found the film very uplifting and quite inspiring. As I said at the beginning, I have no problem in recommending this one… If you haven’t seen it, please do, it’s well worth the time.

My Score: 9.2/10

IMDb Score: 8.0/10 (based on 77,231 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0964517/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91/100 (based on 225 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-fighter/

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Mickey Ward: Alice, this is Charlene.
Charlene Fleming: Hi.
Alice Ward: I've heard a lot about you.
Charlene Fleming: Really? I've heard a lot about you too.
Alice Ward: What's that supposed to mean?
Charlene Fleming: Same thing you meant.

Mickey Ward: I'm the one who's fighting. Not you, not you, and not you.

Dicky Eklund: Are you like me? Was just good enough to fight Sugar Ray? Never had to win, did I? You gotta do more in there. You gotta win a title. For you, for me, for Lowell. This is your time, all right? You take it. I had my time and I blew it. You don't have to. All right? You fuckin' get out there, and use all the shit that you've been through, all the shit we've gone through over the fuckin' years, and you put it in that ring right now. This is yours. This is fuckin' yours.

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.thefightermovie.com/
Trailer: