Silver Linings Playbook is widely known as a highly acclaimed drama-romantic comedy film; however, it is not as well known for its depiction of bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses. This movie not only includes a main character with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, but many supporting and minor characters that also display symptoms of psychological disorders.
The story begins with the main character, Pat, arriving home from a long stay in an inpatient psychiatric facility. We soon find out that Pat arrived to the facility after finding his wife in the shower with another man and almost beat the man to death. Upon arriving back to his parent’s home, he is intensely focused on reconciling with his ex-wife, despite the restraining order she got after the event. He also shows focus on seeing the positive side, or ‘silver linings,’ in his experiences. He frequently sees a therapist who is encouraging him to take his medications to avoid another violent event, but Pat often argues with him, saying he does not need medication and insisting his positive outlook will help him prevent further outbursts.
Pat later goes to a dinner at his friend’s house where he meets Tiffany, a troubled and depressed woman who recently lost her husband. Tiffany makes frequent attempts to try and get close with Pat, but he is insistent on focusing on reconnecting with his ex-wife. In an attempt to make a connection with Pat, Tiffany offers to take a letter to his ex-wife for him if he in turn agrees to enter a dance competition with her. Pat sees this as a way to possibly impress his ex-wife and hesitantly agreed.
Later in the film, Pat and his family go to a Philadelphia Eagles game, as his father is a dedicated fan and has an obvious problem with betting money on their games. At the game, Pat gets into a physical altercation with some racist fans and is taken by the police. Upon arriving back to the house, Pat and his family begin arguing and Pat accidentally elbows his mother, causing his father to start a physical fight with Pat. After the fight dies down, Tiffany arrives to the house claiming that she has noticed the Eagles only do well when she and Pat are together. Pat’s father then agrees to bet that if the Eagles win the next game and Tiffany and Pat get a 5 out of 10 in their dance competition, he will double the money that he lost on the last Eagles game. Pat agrees, but only because Pat’s parents tell him that his ex-wife will be at the dance competition.
On the night of the Eagles game and the dance competition, Tiffany and Pat score a 5 out of 10 exactly and the Eagles win. Pat left after the dance to speak to his ex-wife, not noticing that Tiffany left upset. He speaks to his ex-wife for a brief second before he notices that Tiffany left and leaves to find her. Pat then finds Tiffany and tells her that he loves her and he no longer cares about reconciling with his ex-wife. At the end of the movie, Tiffany and Pat are shown as a couple.
There are clearly many characters in this film that have mental disorders, but I will focus on Pat. Although Pat already has a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, there are many symptoms that Pat expresses to prove that this is likely true. The first symptom is that when arriving home, Pat seems incredibly peaceful and positive, even though he was just hospitalized after having a mental break where he almost killed a man. This drastic change in outlook and personality is the first clue I noticed when analyzing Pat.
Another symptom that Pat expressed was his intense focus on rekindling the relationship with his ex-wife. Although this may be a desire for people who do not express symptoms of a psychological disorder, Pat is not just making this a priority; he is making it an obsession. It is made clear that Pat is delusional about his ability to fix things with his ex-wife as she has moved out of town and gotten a restraining order against him. This obsession is shown again and again throughout most of the movie when he is with Tiffany. It is made obvious that they have a connection and he enjoys being with her, but he repeatedly brings himself back into the need to win his ex-wife back.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), there are three criteria for bipolar disorder. For Bipolar I disorder, the person must have one manic or mixed episode, the symptoms cause harm to the person’s social and work, and the person’s symptoms cannot be due to Schizoaffective disorder, Schizophrenia, Delusional disorder, or another psychological disorder. For Bipolar II disorder, the person has to have a at least one major depressive episode, at least one hypomanic episode, cannot have a history of manic episodes, the symptom’s cause stress on the person’s social or work life, and the symptom’s are not secondary to other psychological disorders.
Based on Pat’s actions in the film, I would agree with the diagnosis of Bipolar I disorder. According to the DSM-5, a manic episode is characterized by an irritable or elevated mood for at least a week, an increase in focus towards goals, easily distracted, and an increase in risky behavior. Pat meets these criterions by his obsession in trying to reconcile his relationship with his ex-wife and his determination to see life positively. I would also classify his altercation at the Eagles game as an increase in risky behavior. Pat additionally meets these criteria because his actions have greatly affected his social life and they are not due to substance abuse or another diagnosis or disorder.
Differential diagnoses for Pat’s behavior could be Bipolar II disorder, dissociative identity disorder, or schizophrenia. Pat does not meet the criteria for Bipolar II disorder based on the film, as he does not have a major depressive disorder where he is sleeps to much, has trouble sleeping, decreased energy, or suicidal ideations. Although Pat’s character easily could’ve experienced it at some point, we do not see it in the movie; therefore he cannot be diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder.
Pat also does not meet the criteria for dissociative identity disorder. To meet these criteria, the person must have two or more personality states, memory loss of some daily or traumatic events, stress or difficulty functioning in social or work areas, and the individual cannot be affected by religious practices, substance abuse, or other diagnoses. Some may argue that because Pat went from an angry man who almost beat someone to death to a man who is determined to see the positive side of life, that he has two personalities and could qualify for the dissociative identity disorder. However, because Pat does not have amnesia of certain parts of his life and these “personalities” are caused by an event (such as seeing his wife cheat on him), he does not meet the criteria for dissociative identity disorder.
The last differential diagnosis, schizoaffective disorder, has four criteria. The individual must have at least one major depressive or manic episode, have delusions or hallucinations for more than two weeks while not in the major mood episode, the mood episodes must be present for most of the illness, and the symptoms are not secondary to substance abuse. Although Pat meets the criterion for a manic episode, he does not experience delusions or hallucinations in the film and he is not having a major mood episode for the entire duration of the film.
Pat’s expressions of the symptoms of bipolar disorder are not only quite accurate, but his family and social life is typical as well. In the film, Pat’s father is displayed as an addicted gambler with a slight rage problem while his mother is portrayed as very passive and is mostly trying to diffuse situations with a forced smile and distractions, such as food or football. The large family argument after the Eagles game is almost inevitable given the family dynamic with all of the different personalities. Pat’s family clearly suffered from some mental issues of their own, which only caused Pat to express more symptoms indicative of his bipolar disorder.
Although Silver Linings Playbook was mostly accurate in its depiction of bipolar disorder, the film is still not perfect. Event though Pat meets the criteria for bipolar disorder, his symptoms seem to only manifest into random violent outbursts that are not typical for someone with bipolar disorder. However, one of the most typical and realistic scenes was the family argument discussed earlier. The glaringly obvious strain and family tension is something that is typical with most families of those suffering from bipolar disorder and is often what triggers some outbursts in these individuals.
When analyzing this movie for its accuracy and realistic depictions of mental disorders, one has to keep in mind that it is still in the “romantic-comedy” genre. The main goal of the directors and producers was not to show a completely accurate depiction of the disorder and had they done that, I feel this movie would be much darker and no longer qualify as a romantic-comedy. If it were completely realistic, the relationship between Pat and Tiffany most likely would not have wrapped up perfectly and happily at the end, as they both have obvious mental disorders that would probably not allow them to have a healthy relationship.
When looking at the film as a whole, its greatest accomplishment was obtaining the romantic-comedy label, while still having quirky and atypical main characters that suffer from mental illnesses. Silver Linings Playbook had the perfect balance of drama and comedy, while still shining a powerful light on the affect that mental disorders, such as bipolar disorder, have on one’s social and personal relationships.