"Silver Linings Playbook" - A Romantic Comedy and Drama Film
"Silver Linings Playbook" is a romantic comedy and drama film directed and written by David Russel. The movie stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence as the main characters with Julia Stiles, Anupam Kher, Chris Tucker, Robert De Niro, and Jacki Weaver in the supporting roles.
Main Characters and Plot
Bradley Cooper suffers from Bipolar Disorder and after losing his wife, job, and being released from the psychiatric hospital moves back to live with his parents (Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro). Cooper desires to rebuild his life and win back the trust of his estranged wife (Brea Bee) so that they can reconcile.
However, things get complicated when Cooper meets Jennifer Lawrence, a widow. Lawrence decides to be of help to Cooper in getting his wife back on the condition that they enter a dance competition. As Cooper and Lawrence train together, they develop a closer relationship with each other in the attempt to help cope with their shared problems.
Integration of Psychological Concepts
The film integrates two different psychological concepts. One of the psychological concepts is the portrayal of a family system that is at its breaking point being brought back together through an encounter with a mental problem scenario.
Copper is released from a psychiatric hospital after 8-months for the charge of brutal assault on the lover of his wife. Copper is evidently suffering from a mental problem because of his rage issues and violent behaviors. However, for the sake of their son, De Niro and Weaver, who had previously resolved to just stay together for a short period before separating, resolve on the necessity of continuing to be a united family to help Copper recover his normal life.
Therefore, it is quite a strange occurrence on how the situation unfolds. The coming of Copper to stay with his parents because of his mental problem after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder turns out to be a blessing for the family. From a psychological perspective, the mental problem of Copper helps to bring his father and mother into a closer relationship that they had not had in their marriage for a long time. Therefore, De Niro and Weaver experience a renewal in their skewed relationship in an attempt to assist Cooper in realizing the determination to recover from his mental illness and reunite with his wife.
It is also psychologically justifiable to argue that the diagnosis of Copper with bipolar disorder problem made him understand his mental weakness behind his violent behaviors. As a result, the understanding of his weakness made Copper come into the realization of the need for change and be a good husband so as to win his wife back.
Depiction of "Social Support"
The other psychological concept that the film uses is "social support." De Niro, Weaver, and Lawrence all show their support to Copper during his most challenging time of suffering from bipolar disorder and are committed to helping him recover from the mental problem.
Lawrence offers show social support by offering to indulge in a dance competition with Copper as one of the ways of helping deal with his stressful situations and stabilizing his moods so as to grow emotionally.
De Niro, through his obsession with gambling and the Philadelphia Eagles, invites his son to join him in the game. As they participate in the game's antics which entail not messing the "juju" of Eagles, stroking handkerchief, and wearing jerseys, De Niro engages his son in a motivative conversation encouraging him not to give up even in the most challenging times. Thus, as affirmed by the confession of De Niro, his obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles and gambling is the ritual that helps him involve Cooper in his life, having failed to nurture him well at his younger stage.
Copper's mother, Weaver, shows support to her son by being submissive to both her husband's and son's demands for the sake of keeping peace among them in the family.
