Bioethical Inquiry DOI 10.1007/s11673-013-9500-5
FILM REVIEW
Silver Linings Playbook Written and Directed by David O. Russell, 2012, Weinstein Company (122 minutes, English, rated R) Katrina A. Bramstedt Received: 23 May 2013 / Accepted: 18 December 2013 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014
Keywords Bipolar disorder . Medication adherence . Father–child relations . Gambling
With a 16-hour journey ahead of me and my own personal TV screen mounted in the seatback of my airplane, I nestled in and scrolled through the airline’s dozens of film offerings. Silver Linings Playbook caught my eye, not only because I am a fan of Robert De Niro but also because the title of the film had me mystified. What could this film be about? Silver Linings Playbook gets off to a fast start with confronting scenes within a locked psychiatric facility. It doesn’t take long to realize that Pat (played by Bradley Cooper) is a troubled young man, and his psychiatrists have surely classified him as a “difficult patient.” Even in the outpatient setting he battles with his doctors and his family, arguing that the side effects of his bipolar medication are intolerable and he, in fact, has no need for the drugs anyway. In what seems an unethical clinical manoeuvre, one of his psychiatrists “tests” Pat’s stability by playing a Stevie Wonder song in the clinic waiting room as Pat arrives for his appointment. The song has been a significant emotional trigger for Pat, and psychiatric treatment has not changed this. When the clinic receptionist refuses to turn off the music, Pat demolishes the waiting room in a violent outburst.
K. A. Bramstedt (*) School of Medicine, Bond University, University Drive, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia 4229 e-mail:
[email protected]
The film is a nearly constant tug-of-war between the emotional (and financial) needs of Pat’s father (played by De Niro) and the emotional and personal needs of Pat to recover from the tragedy that sent him to the psychiatric facility. The setting is a triangle and Pat runs from point to point, around and around: his father’s gambling
Bioethical Inquiry
addiction, Pat’s “new project,” and Pat’s estranged spouse (he is convinced they still have a great marriage). In this triad of agent–host–environment, the threat of rehospitalisation emerges time and time again and violence waxes and wanes within the relationships. Thus, the film is not solely focused on Pat but instead places his illness in a broader context and narrative. It seems there are many people who need help in this story. Pat’s mother, Dolores, is loving but seems to lack any empowerment in her life. Her role appears to be putting out “fires” and “keeping the peace.” And, in the end, Pat’s father’s gambling addiction takes centre stage and engulfs the lives of the household, further complicating Pat’s attempt to gain wellness Unfortunately, the film errs in its ending, which is sappy and unrealistic, though this does not detract from an otherwise excellent script. A review on WebMD, however, disagrees, arguing that Silver Linings
Playbook does not offer an accurate depiction of mental illness (Brauser 2012). Further, it finds the film worrisome due to the “happy ending” that could send an unrealistic message to people and their families struggling with psychiatric disorders. Even with these limitations, the film still has much merit. This is because much of the content is relevant to medical ethics, making it a valuable curriculum offering for reflective discussion for students studying medicine and psychology.
References Brauser, D. 2012. “Silver Linings Playbook” OK on mental illness? Medscape Medical News, December 27. http://www. webmd.com/mental-health/news/20121227/silver-liningsplaybook-mental-illness.
