Today, I decided to go and see just why Jennifer Lawrence deserved her Academy Award for best actress. Granted, if she didn't win, I would seriously doubt the legitimacy of the system if she didn't win, purely based on who the other nominees were. I'm not saying that Naomi Watts is a bad actress, I'm saying that movies such as Zero Dark Thirty are not the kind of movies that spring winners in the "Best Actress in a Leading Role" category. Now, as for the movie, it is about a man who's wife cheated on him, and he beat up the man she cheated with. He is put into a mental institution as a result and he is released. He meets a girl who has issues of her own, and they help to rehabilitate each other through dance. I will break down the rating of the movie into categories and average it for the score.
Plot-9/10: The movie, despite taking place over months, does a good job pacing the movie so there isn't a lag moment. The flashbacks are well timed and are used to illustrate the back story. My main complaint is the fact that there is, to a certain extent, an element of unrealistic situations when the same police officer always deals with him. To a point, such as domestic disturbances and other calls to the house are understandable, however the same cop responding at the movie theater on Halloween came off as either the cop is stalking him or all of Philadelphia has one police officer. Also, at the Eagles/Giants game, the police took far too long to respond to a brawl at a tailgate.
Acting-10/10: Everyone has already beaten to death how good Jennifer Lawrence was in this movie, so I won't spend too much time on that topic. She did a good job portraying a depressed widow and she does a good job conveying emotion, something that most current actors cannot do. She has command of the stage when she is on it as she demands all the attention. Bradley Cooper does a good job portraying the crazy guy fighting to get his wife back. However, when he is in a scene with Robert De Niro or Jennifer Lawrence, he is overshadowed. Robert De Niro is great in this movie. He plays a bookie who is trying to make the money to open a restaurant. He does his usual style of acting, making him appear as if he is in a continuation of Goodfellas.
Characters-8/10: The characters are deep. We get extensive knowledge into their back-stories and why they act as they do. They are not stock, static characters, they are new and exciting and dynamic in their personalities. My issue is the amount of drive that Pat has toward his ex-wife. Personally, if my wife cheated on me, I wouldn't try to get her back. I accept that the man is insane but still, there is not enough effort on the part of everyone else around him to try and make him accept the fact that, while he was in a mental institution, she moved on. Also, the fact that no one says "Listen, she cheated on you, move on" bothered me a lot.
Final Rating: 9/10
This was a great movie and, at this point, wait for it to come out on DVD. There are too many fans of The Hunger Games going to see this movie now.
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