Jennifer Lawrence won the Best Actress Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook, which was released on Blu-Ray and DVD yesterday (April 30), but the best performances in this movie are delivered by Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.
I don’t mean to knock Lawrence by saying this; she’s quite good in the film. It’s just that Cooper and De Niro (who were both Oscar-nominated) are a little better.
Cooper plays a man recently released from a mental hospital who is looking to get back with his wife, despite the fact that she has a restraining order against him, and despite her complete lack of interest in his existence. De Niro is on hand as his dad, a superstitious gambler who wants his son to watch football with him, not because he wants genuine father/son time, but because he believes his son provides good luck.
Enter Lawrence as a recently widowed woman living nearby; she’s an equally troubled person who pretty much forces Cooper into her life. The two wind up hanging out much to his chagrin, and eventually find themselves in a dance competition.
It’s much better than it sounds.
Cooper, Lawrence and De Niro all manage to portray people with mental problems while avoiding clichés. Each makes his or her character sympathetic, sometimes tragic, and even a little funny at times.
Director David O. Russell always manages to get great ensemble work (Flirting With Disaster, Three Kings, The Fighter), and this film firmly establishes him as an elite director.
Lawrence is great here, but I would’ve tossed the Best Leading Actress Oscar at Naomi Watts for her work in The Impossible. Cooper was even better, but I would’ve given the Best Leading Actor Oscar to Daniel Day-Lewis (who did indeed win it) and Hugh Jackman before him. However, considering who was nominated alongside De Niro for Best Supporting Actor, I think Bobby D. should’ve gotten his third Oscar.
Special Features: Good movies often have good deleted scenes, and such is the case with this Blu-ray release. You get a bunch of deleted scenes, including an alternate ending, and many of them were worthy of the film. You also get some decent behind-the-scenes stuff and interviews.