Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Larwence surprised everybody this year with their lead performances in David O Russell’s latest movie Silver Linings Playbook which tells the tale of two tortured souls who are desperately trying to get their lives back together and find happiness in a world full of despair.

Lawrence plays Tiffany, a widow whose husband has recently died at a very young age whilst Cooper plays Pat, freshly released from a mental institute for beating his wife’s lover half to death he sets out on a mission to win his wife’s heart back.

This really is a movie driven by the strength of its performances. The interactions between Lawrence and Cooper in the early stages of the movie were some of the best scenes in cinema this year, not to forget some of the funniest. Lawrence will no doubt be looking at an Oscar nomination for her performance in this movie and rightfully so.

The supporting cast in this movie also play their part, Robert De Niro is fantastic as Pat’s gambling addicted father, taking on his first decent role in years whilst Chris Rock makes his returns to our screens as one of Pat’s friends from the mental institution that seems hell bent on sneaking out and getting away from it all.

The movies story itself is very well paced but it does appear to go off the boil a little bit towards the end. Minor issues in an otherwise superbly enjoyable movie.

Overall: This movie includes some incredible performances and some real laugh out loud moments. David O Russell has managed to make the one thing that I never thought I’d see: A romantic comedy where I wanted a happy ending. Rating: ****