Silver Linings Playbook was one of my favourite films from last year and I was so overjoyed when it received so many nominations in the Golden Globes and Oscars. Films I like are never deemed Oscar-worthy, and I never like Oscar-worthy films, so it was a rare treat to actually agree with people who know far more about these things than I do. I was genuinely thrilled when Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress as her character was phenomenal in the film.
So when I was asked what I wanted for my birthday, I said I wanted to read the original novel. I'd heard it was even better than the film so this review is largely addressing that question, along with the wider question of which is better: the original source or the film?
The novel was an easy enough read, and I would say that if you like The Perks of Being a Wallflower (incidentally, another of my top films from last year), you would likely enjoy this as it was reminiscent of it in many ways. Pat in the novel came across, I would say, as more mentally ill than in the film, but also less dangerous in many ways, and more sympathetic. The novel was less sanitised than the film and less neatly tied up in set-Hollywood pieces, which wasn't altogether a bad thing. I did feel that, had I not seen the film first, Tiffany would not have been anywhere near as endearing, and I largely put that down to Lawrence's performance in the film. The film was also, I felt, better at capturing people's attitudes towards mental illness via Tiffany's sister and Pat's brother, who seemed very vanilla and gentle in the novel. Again, not a bad thing, but a difference.
In terms of the film being better or worse than the novel, it would be hard to say. I know there is a general rule of thumb that the novel is always better than the film, but I would say that holds untrue in several cases to my mind, and I'm not even the most knowledgeable person about films. For instance, I think Stardust makes a far better film than Neil Gaiman's novel, whilst The Devil Wears Prada and Legally Blonde are, frankly, terrible novels, but pretty cool films. Even novels I really like, such as Prince Caspian, have actually been improved when treated for the big screen (a controversial choice, I know, as many people think Prince Caspian is a weak link in the Narnia franchise which is so clearly untrue given the godawful mess that The Voyage of the Dawntreader was - but I digress).
It is probably safest to say that The Silver Linings Playbook, like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is different in each format. This is a terrible cop-out of a conclusion, much like the 'on reflection, it is amibiguous' I used to shove into my Literature essays at A Level. Yet it is probably the truest thing I can say about this novel, as I found that having seen the film helped to shed light upon aspects of the novel and vice versa. I wouldn't say the novel was a must-read, though, whilst I would say the film was, so perhaps that is a greater indicator of which made the greatest impact upon me.
Or just an indication of how massive my crushes on both Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are. Cue gratuitous picture.
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