Silver Linings Playbook: Curious story and solid performances

Silver Linings Playbook
Director: David O Russell
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Chris Tucker, Jacki Weaver
***

Having wowed the Academy with last year's gritty drama The Fighter, the writer-director David O Russell follows on with this offbeat romp, set in a more upmarket locale.

Cooper confidently channels the erratic and unstable as the bipolar former teacher Pat, who fails to accept that his wife has left him. His sparring with his parents (played by De Niro and Animal Kingdom's Oscar-nominee Weaver) proves fruitless. Enter Tiffany (Lawrence), whose own habits collide with Pat's.

Silver Linings is odd and erratic in its direction and never quite gets to grips with its grand titular designs. Yet it boasts fine performances, particularly from Lawrence, and is already proving impossible to ignore.