Oscar winner, one of the most beautiful and charming films in the history of cinema is on Netflix

Film that gave the Oscar for best actress to Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook” also competed, in the edition of the awards in 2013, in the categories of best actor, best film, best direction and best adapted screenplay. Directed and adapted for the screen by David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook” is based on the novel of the same name by Matthew Quick.

Bradley Cooper plays Pat Solatano, a man who spent time in a psychiatric facility after having a mental breakdown when he caught his wife, Nikki, having sex with another man inside their home. Under restrictive measures, Pat cannot go near the woman, his own home or the school where he used to teach. So he needs to return to his parent s’ house, while trying to rebalance his mental health to win his wife back.

One day, he is introduced to Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a lonely widow who is obsessed with winning a dance competition. For that, she needs a partner. So, she convinces Pat in exchange for helping him reconcile with Nikki. Amidst the intense hours of rehearsals, Pat and Tiffany develop a strange friendship, with hints of romance, but also many fights. Their troubled personalities collide, but they’re both looking for the same thing: understanding, empathy, and companionship.

As Pat struggles to keep his sanity in the face of a bipolar diagnosis, he tries to make peace with his father, Pat (Robert De Niro), who has always been tough and absent, and who has bouts of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and explosive behavior. . Obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles, an American football team, Pat (father) makes constant risky bets and believes that behavioral rituals will interfere with his team’s victory or defeat.

There are many problems that Pat faces and it is not uncommon for him to lose control. “Silver Linings Playbook” is not a film about achieving perfection or finding complete happiness. It’s about how the journey towards our goals is the best part of the journey. Success is not the destination, but everything you learn before you get there and the people who accompany you.

For Pat, the goal is to regain Nikki’s trust and ultimately win her love back. But, little by little, he discovers that this is not what he really needs. After all, as Mick Jagger once sang, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try, you can get what you need”. And Pat gets exactly what he needs.

One of the most enchanting things about this film is that we get involved in the lives of these people who make up the narrative. Not just from Pat, but we felt like someone who is part of Pat’s (dad), Tiffany’s and the whole neighborhood routine. Russell managed to turn the script into such an everyday and trivial story, and at the same time special and heartfelt.

The performances here are spectacular. All work is very refined. It’s not a silly comedy that we’ll forget in a few years. None of that. “O Lado Bom da Vida” is one of those works that become our favorites, that we want to watch and rewatch when we have a bad day, when we need company. It is an antidote to sadness, because even though its characters are problematic, we identify with them and feel supported and understood.

Life is made up of real people, not those human avatars we see on social media wearing luxury brands and with botox smiles on their faces. “O Lado Bom da Vida” is as real as hitting a finger on the corner. It’s a film full of bitterness and confusion, and yet beauty and sweetness.

Film: The good side of life
Direction: David O. Russell
Year: 2012
Gender: Drama/Comedy
note: 10/10