I have watched this film several times (maybe more), but why? What is it about this film that I find fascinating; is it the recovery of a him/her from a personal crisis or is it more, maybe a love story or something else?
Here is a clip, near the beginning of the story, when Pat meets Tiffany at her sister's house.
Silver Lining Playbook - a "strategy"
Before the evening however Pat is counseled by his Psychologist to "get a strategy"; to develop a way of coping with the reactions or stress brought on by the combination of his medical history and his crisis; the loss of his wife through an affair.
What I like about the film is how these try to help each other, though the effort is clouded in deception; he wanting her to give a letter to his wife (who has a restraining order against him) and she who want him, well, as her lover, perhaps next husband (her husband having died in the line of duty).
Atop of their messed-up lives is his family and, in particular, his father (played by Robert De Niro) who happens to have some behavioral issues of his own and, in that, an agenda too. In this scene, the father has lost a crucial bet on his hometown football team and is blaming Pat for it all. In the midst of this family mayhem, Tiffany arrives--mad as Hell--to not only establish her cause but to set Pat's father straight, as to the relationship and vicariously the Philadelphia Eagle's performance/record.
Silver Lining PLaybook - "I got to say I do"
His family has dealt with "Pat's problem" for many years but, by his own admission, the father largely overlooked it, playing favorite to Pat's old brother who is apparently more successful, seemingly "normal".
The film or story combines humor, romance and the drama of two (or more) lives in the midst of serious matters. Through it and with it, the two are are able give and receive help in degrees, step by step, discovering love in the process. It is a beautiful story.
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