MovieChat Forums > Silver Linings Playbook (2012) Discussion > Plotquestions.

Plotquestions.

posted 8 years ago by donald-vanvliet
5 replies | jump to latest

I like the movie, but some things I feel I didn't quite get, perhaps someone (who read the book) can help me out :

1.

The scheme to hook up Pat and Tiffany : who cooked this up and why exactly ?

Pat's parents ?
It's suggested that the mother had a deal with Tiffany where she told her where he ran. Why did they do that ? To make Pat lose his obsession with Nikki I assume. But did the parents really want their son to hook up with Tiffany then ?

Tiffany's sister Ronnie ?
When she invited Pat and Tiffany over for dinner, it was to make them meet each other right ? But then at the end of the movie she brings Nikki to the dance and apparantly changed her mind about hooking up Pat and Tiffany ?

Tiffany herself ?
Tiffany had a deal with Pat's mother who told her where he went jogging. A deal to do what exactly ? Meet up with him and then what ? I mean they didn't know each other before.

2.

At the end after the parley-scene where Pat says he won't go to the dance, Pat's parents and Tiffany conspire in the kitchen that the only way to make him go to the dance is to make sure Nikki is there.

Right before they go to the dance, Pat also says to Tiffany that he's going because he is going to see Nikki...

But then, when they are at the dance and Ronnie turns up with Nikki, Tiffany loses it and seems surprised that Nikki is there ?

I loved the scene where Tiffany confronts Ronnie (you're killing me!), but it was a bit confusing to be honest...she knew Nikki was going to be there no ?

[Btw : in the final act of the movie, Lawrence was fantastic, she has so much presence]

[–] jeffer23 8 years ago

The scheme to hook up Pat and Tiffany : who cooked this up and why exactly ?

They don't explain this in the movie. But one possibility is that Tiffany contacted Pat's mother after meeting Pat at Ronnie and Veronica's. We do know that Pat's mother gave Tiffany calls for ambushes on his runs in hopes to steer Pat away from his focus on Nikki. It is possible that Ronnie and Veronica were involved, but I tend to think this is unlikely since they were also responsible for bringing Nikki to the dance. I think they also invited Tiffany to dinner early in the movie because Veronica was spying on Pat for Nikki to determine his mental situation.

At the end after the parley-scene where Pat says he won't go to the dance, Pat's parents and Tiffany conspire in the kitchen that the only way to make him go to the dance is to make sure Nikki is there.

They weren't going to make sure Nikki went to the dance. They were going to tell Pat that Nikki will be there to trick him into staying with the plan. It was Ronnie and Veronica that screwed it up for Tiffany by actually getting Nikki to come to the dance. That is why Tiffany went into shock when she saw Nikki.

[–] stanbrown32 8 years ago

I think these plot turns make this movie much better than the book. In the book, Pat was in the hospital for years, and Nikki had in the meanwhile divorced him, remarried, and even had kids. So Pat's insisting in the book that they would get back together was entirely delusional. In the movie, the audience is in suspense at the end, wondering if Nikki and/or wants the other/each other back.

[–] horsenbuggy 8 years ago

See, I disagree. In the book, there was no scheme to get Pat and Tiffany together. They just happened to be at dinner together and the dinner didn't go as horribly as it did in the movie. Tiffany took it upon herself to run after Pat. She did eventually befriend his mother but that wasn't until after she'd decided she was in love with him and wanted information. As for Nikki moving on, that was all kept under wraps. No one told Pat and he pretended that he didn't know. I thought it was much more compelling that he had memory and time loss issues than that he had anger management issues. In the book he was so focused on being a better, happier person. I didn't think the movie did a good job of showing that.

[–] jeffer23 8 years ago

I have read this post and your other post regarding differences between the book and movie and find it interesting. I was not aware of many of those differences.

I do have one question for you regarding Pat's mental condition in the book. Is he diagnosed as Bipolar or some other issue? Based on your description, it almost sounds like he has a different mental condition in the book.

Thanks for sharing the interesting information. I have watched this movie numerous times. I may end up having to read the book one of these days.

[–] Noorterling 8 years ago

My guess is that Tiffany was upset about Nikki being there because she had developed feelings for Pat and was afraid their friendship would end, if Nikki would be willing to reunite with Pat. Which could be an explanation why she is suddenly hostile to him when he finds her at the bar, or that she leaves the contest without telling anybody. I thought it was an effort to make it less painful for herself. It's just guessing though.