Review: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

                As this past year’s winner for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, expectations are high when it comes to seeing Jennifer Lawrence’s performance in David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook. Lawrence’s role as the psychologically damaged widow Tiffany Maxwell is a meaty one, allowing her to really sink her teeth into it.

                There is an astounding transparency to Jennifer Lawrence as an actress. She is able to convey emotion with ease and with such realism that her own identity disappears, leaving only the character behind. Tiffany maintains the illusion of confidence throughout the film and comes across as a sassy and mildly inappropriate young woman. Lawrence encourages quite a few laughs with her performance thanks to the incredible lines she is given to say. Her ability to deadpan one-liners is impeccable. When the veneer of her self-assurance is ripped away, we witness the finest aspect to Lawrence’s performance – her vulnerability. With quivering tears and a willingness to indulge in emotions, she convinces the audience to side with her, ensuring that she achieves quite a bit of sympathy. It is astounding that she is able to convey so much at such a young age. But here is the crux. Lawrence was too young for the role. Her believability in the role is questionable because her obvious youth distracts from the writing. It’s hard to believe that Tiffany would be in her early-20s given her narrative. Furthermore, Lawrence’s performance isn’t consistent, which is likely due to her relative newness within the film industry. At times, she appears to be taking cues from the Kristen Stewart School of Acting. Some lines are delivered with such monotony that she seems bored with the material. Yes, her performance is great but it would have been mind-blowing had Anne Hathaway or Natalie Portman been cast instead. Fun factoid: Hathaway was originally supposed to play the character but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Bummer. 

                The real tragedy in Silver Linings Playbook is that Jennifer Lawrence was tagged by the media as its runaway star. In reality, her performance would fall flat without the assistance of her co-star Bradley Cooper. This is easily one of his best on-screen appearances to date and he acts his perfectly sculpted backside off. He commits himself to the role in such a way that you’re vaguely reminded of how Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson do the same. He and Lawrence truly are a team in this movie so much so that perhaps Lawrence should have dedicated her Oscar speech to Cooper had she not been so distracting by falling on her face after tripping on her dress. They play off each other incredibly and have chemistry so palpable that you find it hard to believe these are two actors playing roles. There is no denying that Jennifer Lawrence is a fantastic actress. She’s one of the best young actresses in the industry at the moment and she’ll likely follow in the aforementioned footsteps of Hathaway and Portman but should she have walked away with the coveted trophy instead of Naomi Watts or Jessica Chastain? Perhaps not.