Life with the black dog!*

Silver Lining Playbook 2012

Another Hollywood movie with a predictably happy ending like the title suggests. It depicts a bipolar patient who is removed by his mother from a mental institution and how his family and his friend's wife sister, a depressive patient, try to go against all the negativity and hostilities around them to focus on a dance competition and indirectly fight the black dog together. Of course, in the process, they fall in love, bla,bla,bla... Haven't we heard this story before?
The other subplots in the movie makes it different, though. After checking out the mental facilty, Pat (Bradley Cooper) plans to turn over a new leaf, focus on his life and try to win back his wife's heart. She had a restraining order against Pat after he bashed and morbidly wounded his wife's lover when he made an unscheduled entrance before his incarceration.

Pat has a hot tempered baseball bookie father and a mother who tries to ease the tension in the house. Anupam Kher is the therapist who shows up periodically in the movie. Pat's best friend, Roonie, appears happily married but he is actually biting the bullet to save his family with work, expenses and a demanding wife. His sister-in-law, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), is a depressive widow who had built a reputation as a nymphomaniac who is trying to get her life straight.

Pat and Tiffany pair up in a tumultuous up and down yoyo type of a 'platonic' relationship midst the clash of each others' uncontrollable unresolved anger. With this background, Pat agrees to partner her in a dance contest to win his wife's heart back. What Pat gets instead is Tiffany, his cordial relationship with father, mother and brother as well as a chance to fight his inner demons.
Not really outstanding story wise but the acting capability by the main stars and the veterans like De Niro and Kher are commendable.
The black dog is a curse and dealing with family members who have afflicted with this ailment is nerve wrecking. People around them just mean well but the patients fail to see that but instead pour their anger of their other frustrations on their loved ones. Family relationship is strained and hence more new problems creep in....

Black dog

(

noun) Informal.

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