David Owen Russell directed the 2012 drama-comedy SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK. The main character “Pat”, played by Bradley Cooper, is struggling to manage his bipolar disorder. Once released from a psychiatric hospital he must move into his parent’s home. When there he meets Jennifer Lawrence’s recently widowed character Tiffany. The two’s estranged personalities collide in many scenes to create a dynamic and interesting relationship. Mise-en-scene can, in fact, foster and support the theme and message that the director hopes to be taken away by the audience. In the case of SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, mise-en-scene develops a theme of self-improvement through the love of someone else. Viewers could successful pick up on the lively, growing bond of
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To explain further, the film is considered a comedy and a drama but many do not consider it a comedy. This is due to David Russell’s specific choices when filming. He chose insignificant times to portray the comedic side of the film to make it ironically funny. For example, in the scene in which Pat and Tiffany first meet the camera specifically zooms in on small attributes of Jennifer’s character. This tactic is the same as that used in the scene with the police officer at the door but it took a funnier turn. This became funny when the camera stops at her cleavage, making the viewer believe that this is where Pat is looking. Another time that the importance of mise-en-scene is apparent is when this scene and the closing scene are compared. The un-comfort and separation of the two characters is made obvious through the close ups pictured in the first scene. Although they are having a conversation, Pat and Tiffany are not shown together, in fact only close ups of the characters speaking are shown. This is very different than that shown in the closing scene, where Tiffany is pictured on Pats lap. This exemplifies the theme of self-improvement through the love of someone. Without using close ups in the first scene it would have been more difficult for the viewer to pick up on initial separation. The importance of mise-en-scene is not always known until scenes such as this are pointed out. David Owen Russell uses mise-en-scene in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK to create a stronger message and more powerful theme, without its use the wrong message could be pulled from the story and the theme could fall
To explain further, the film is considered a comedy and a drama but many do not consider it a comedy. This is due to David Russell’s specific choices when filming. He chose insignificant times to portray the comedic side of the film to make it ironically funny. For example, in the scene in which Pat and Tiffany first meet the camera specifically zooms in on small attributes of Jennifer’s character. This tactic is the same as that used in the scene with the police officer at the door but it took a funnier turn. This became funny when the camera stops at her cleavage, making the viewer believe that this is where Pat is looking. Another time that the importance of mise-en-scene is apparent is when this scene and the closing scene are compared. The un-comfort and separation of the two characters is made obvious through the close ups pictured in the first scene. Although they are having a conversation, Pat and Tiffany are not shown together, in fact only close ups of the characters speaking are shown. This is very different than that shown in the closing scene, where Tiffany is pictured on Pats lap. This exemplifies the theme of self-improvement through the love of someone. Without using close ups in the first scene it would have been more difficult for the viewer to pick up on initial separation. The importance of mise-en-scene is not always known until scenes such as this are pointed out. David Owen Russell uses mise-en-scene in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK to create a stronger message and more powerful theme, without its use the wrong message could be pulled from the story and the theme could fall