The Weinstein Company
And if you say to me tomorrow, oh what fun it all would be.
Then what’s to stop us, pretty baby. But what is and what should never be.
–Led Zeppelin
Lately I don’t want to write unless there’s something totally pressing on my mind.
Like now.
I started watching the first 30 minutes or so of Silver Lining Playbook. I haven’t looked into it, but it seems like it’s billed as a nice romantic comedy. Well, the first 30 minutes was enough to trigger all sorts of feelings in me. (The movie was released in 2012, so that shows how “hip” I am regarding pop culture.)
The main character, Pat (played by Bradley Cooper), is bipolar, and his father (played by Robert DeNiro, a nice surprise since I only knew Cooper was in the movie) has issues to a certain extent such as OCD and anger.
I had to stop watching after the scene where Pat was having flashbacks of assaulting his wife’s lover while the soundtrack played “What Is and What Should Never Be” by Led Zeppelin. Ironically, Zeppelin happens to be my favorite band of all-time, and their songs and mystique have weaved themselves throughout my life since I was in middle school.
I’m not criticizing this movie (I’ve only seen the first 30 minutes); on the contrary, this post is just a half-hearted rant about wanting to see a basic romantic comedy between two people who suffer from various mental issues — and instead being subjected to scenes from my own darkest days in a theater from hell.
I’ll probably continue watching the movie now that I know what to expect — and deal with the triggers as they come. How wise is that, though? I don’t know.
Wow, I started watching during my lunch break, then I had class, and now I’m back at the desk, and it’s still with me — or maybe it’s because I’m still writing this post. However, this movie definitely hits home because Pat is so much like me — heck, the story is so much like mine.
(By the way, at the beginning of the movie, Pat is at the psychiatric hospital wearing a hooded sweatshirt with strings. Those strings would be the first things to come off when one is admitted to such a facility, along with shoe laces.)
I don’t like to write reviews. I don’t consider myself qualified to inform people about such things as movies. Books, maybe.
So consider this an anti-review.
Whatever that means.
~t
October 16th, 2014 at 5:47 pm
Keep going, despite the triggers, it really is a good movie and shows that we can love and laugh just as well, if not better than everyone else!
October 16th, 2014 at 5:50 pm
Thank you! Perhaps the roughest scenes for me were in the beginning. I want to see the “positivety” between Pat and Tiffany — at least that’s what I expect.
October 18th, 2014 at 6:11 pm
I say read the book – the book was excellent. As always, the movie was a tad much.
October 20th, 2014 at 2:43 pm
Thanks! Yes, I’ve heard that the book goes more into Pat’s illness. That would be very interesting.