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4:27 pm - 02/24/2013

Passion Pit's Michael Angelakos is not impressed with Silver Linings Playbook

Ahead of Silver Linings Playbook's big night at The Oscars, Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos - who has been living with bipolar disorder all his life - isn't all too pleased with the film's portrayal of mental illness.









Despite his misgivings of the topic in the film, he concedes that it's better for it to be discussed, rather than not at all:





a few more items about this @his twitter
I liked SLP a lot, but he he's obviously entitled to his opinion and I respect him so much for what he's been through <3
leviicorpus 24th-Feb-2013 09:52 pm (UTC)
He's right about Hollywood, but imo the mental illness in SLP was integral to the plot and not just a gimmicky attempt to add depth to a typical romcom. The movie was first and foremost about characters learning to accept and live with their mental illnesses; the love story was secondary.

Edited at 2013-02-24 09:54 pm (UTC)
abiding 24th-Feb-2013 09:56 pm (UTC)
mte
ectypes 24th-Feb-2013 09:57 pm (UTC)
yeah, i quite agree with you. the romance completely took a backseat and the mental illness didn't feel gimmicky at all--- or at least it felt as un-gimmicky as a hollywood version of mental illness can feel.
modernelegance 24th-Feb-2013 09:58 pm (UTC)
Agreed.
sweet_honesty 24th-Feb-2013 10:02 pm (UTC)
It seems to me like he found out the plot and made this rant without actually seeing the movie.
sevenbeat 24th-Feb-2013 10:02 pm (UTC)
mte
_myaugust 24th-Feb-2013 10:04 pm (UTC)
Agreed.
vehiclesshockme 24th-Feb-2013 10:06 pm (UTC)
I agree.
xlightningboltx 24th-Feb-2013 10:06 pm (UTC)
ia. the mental illness was in no way a plot device (argument could be made for De Niro's OCD)
chimbleysweep 24th-Feb-2013 10:14 pm (UTC)
OCD is only ever a plot device or something for laughs.

It makes me furiously angry.
megan_s_song 24th-Feb-2013 11:16 pm (UTC)
For me, it was more to show that every one in his family was struggling with something, not that he's just the oddball. It also helps to hint towards how his family never acknowledged his illness before.
slurp 25th-Feb-2013 06:45 pm (UTC)
In a way but I think it showed the influence of nature and nurture on mental illness too. And how his father didn't "need" treatment because he had all these rituals, but the son's mental illness was being "crazy". Like he (the father) wanted to believe they were so different but they really weren't. And the blow-up at the end shows how much these rituals comes from pain and anxiety and not just quirkiness *shrug*
ohkimosabe 24th-Feb-2013 10:07 pm (UTC)
thanks for saying it better than i ever could lol
siri_greene 24th-Feb-2013 10:26 pm (UTC)
ia, it was much more of a self growth story to me than a love story. it would have still worked if they were just friends
musicnextdoor 24th-Feb-2013 10:27 pm (UTC)
I thought the movie acted as though love could magically cure mental illness. Social support can be very useful, but it isn't magic.
howlcosmiclove 24th-Feb-2013 10:39 pm (UTC)
ia
ediesedgwick 24th-Feb-2013 11:10 pm (UTC)
tbh I didn't find it personally offensive but I also don't have bipolar disorder, so his opinion trumps mine.
deltabean 25th-Feb-2013 12:30 am (UTC)
Well said
celtic_thistle 25th-Feb-2013 02:53 am (UTC)
That was my impression too.
psubookworm27 25th-Feb-2013 05:43 am (UTC)
this, right here.


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