Second Trailer For SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

By | October 3, 2012

David O. Russell’s SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is riding a wave of positive buzz, following its People’s Choice Award win at the Toronto International Film Festival and is looming over Oscar season as a major contender, and the new trailer for the film does nothing to diminish its status as an early front-runner. The new trailer dives into protagonist Pat Solitano’s (Bradley Cooper) misconceived attempt to reintegrate himself into everyday life and reconcile with his unfaithful wife (Brea Bree) after spending eight months in a state institution.

The trailer for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK tease Pat’s dysfunctional antics, such as a 4AM rant about the conclusion to A Farewell to Arms. It’s a funny scene working on two levels of symbolism: 1) Pat, seeking signs that his own quest for a happy ending isn’t in vain, has no patience for Ernest Hemingway’s morose outlook and 2) Russell the storyteller, expressing his own disinterest in sad endings for the sake of reflecting a bleak existential worldview, as he has throughout his previous films (THREE KINGS, I HEART HUCKABEES, and THE FIGHTER).

It’s after this point that the ‘silver lining’ is presented: Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), an emotionally-troubled woman much younger than Pat, who’s also regressed to a place of childish maturity, yet adult sexual awareness. They form something between platonic friendship and romantic intimacy. Pat and Tiffany chart a road to recovery that defies convention.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK takes expectations and flips them on their heads so much to make the ride well worth taking. Russell usually works with his cast to create vivid characters that feel like people you pass on the street, enough to keep even the most peculiar narratives grounded. Cooper and Lawrence, by early accounts, delivers performances that manage such a task, as do Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is rounded out by such people as Julia Stiles, Shea Whingham, Anupam Kher, and Chris Tucker, marking his return to the big screen after a five-year absence following RUSH HOUR 3. Look for the film in U.S. theaters on November 21st, 2012.