I have seen the trailer for this film at several of the recent film screenings I have been at, at the idea intrigued me. Pretty boy rom-com star Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) playing a man with a mental illness, with his parents played by Robert De Niro and Australian acting Royalty Jackie Weaver.
At the time, I did not know that Jackie Weaver would receive an Academy Awards nomination, or that Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games). All the more intriguing.
Cooper plays Pat Solitano Jr, who has just been released from a psychiatric hospital against the wishes of the doctors but at the insistence of his mother (Weaver). We are lead slowly through the information about how he ended up there, but we do know that he had been diagnosed with bi-polar after a serious incident that involved his wife.
Bradley Cooper plays the character with heart and depth, and often we can feel the pain and confusion that he is faced with. He wants to fit back in, he wants to return to work as a teacher, he wants his wife back, and he is prepared to work hard to get all this. However, there are too many people who have experienced him at his worst to trust that he is on the road to stability and his desperate wish to achieve his old life without medication means that there are several incidents that cause concern for those he comes in contact with.
His best friend Ronnie (John Ortiz) invites him for dinner, and he meets Ronnie's sister-in-law, the young widow Tiffany (Lawrence). At first they are confronted by each other's behaviour, and then they start to realise the need for them to accept help from each other. In order for each to move on, they need to both control impulsive behaviours that are dangerous, his being anger and violent outburst, hers outlandish sexual behaviour.
The film is directed with warmth and compassion by David O. Russell who really has only a handful of films to his name, particularly I Heart Huckabees and Three Kings. Mental illness (both bi-polar and depression) are not used as excuses, not seen as quickly curable but also not presented as humourous. He has stayed away from many of the cliches, which is a real difference for a Hollywood film.
Whilst this is an excellent film, and the performances of both Cooper and Lawrence are fabulous and right on the mark, the advertising that includes large numbers of shots of De Niro and Weaver are misleading. Actually, neither of their performances would particularly warrant a mention in a review. So why am I talking about them? Because if you are expecting either of them to deliver a memorable performance, you have been mislead.
The supporting cast are not particularly memorable, although some of them really should be based on their credentials. I kept waiting for De Niro to move into his 'Fockers' alter-ego, as some of his lines were delivered with a 'silly' over-played style that I found annoying rather than endearing.
Jackie Weaver's nomination simply makes me continue to wonder what the Academy panel are on, and who pays them. Obviously they either like the film and had to find something for it, or like her. She has delivered a multitude of better performances in her career, and I don't really think that her ability to sustain and American accent well is really enough to warrant a gong.
Other supporting players include Julia Styles (barely seen), Chris Tucker (why?) and Shea Whiggam (again playing the less interesting brother).
Often a film is lifted by the supporting players and the depth to the other stories and people we are meeting. But although the main story is a good one, this could be presented as a two-actor play on stage because there is really no-one else of importance to the film. It is a shame, because I think the performances of Cooper and Lawrence would only be buoyed by depth around them.
3 Orsons.
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