Another day, another Best Picture favorite. David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday night and it left most critics in attendance breathless.
"This is one of the fastest, smartest and most satisfying love stories I've ever seen," wrote Hollywood Elsewhere blogger Jeffrey Wells, before adding that he would be "astonished if it doesn't make at least $100 million."
Wells wasn't alone in his exuberance. As Los Angeles Times writer Steven Zeitchik noted, "Silver Linings Playbook" was one of the most well-received films he saw at the festival thus far. "An after-party was filled with genuine enthusiasm that went far beyond the usual smoke-blowing," he wrote.
Writing for Indiewire, critic Eric Kohn compared Russell's style to Preston Sturges.
Starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro, the film -- an adaptation of Matthew Quick's 2008 novel -- is about Pat (Cooper), a man recently released from a mental hospital, and the relationship he forms with Tiffany (Lawrence). While many have praised Cooper for his work in the comedy-drama, it's Lawrence that is getting the lion's share of praise.
"Lawrence absolutely steals the movie," wrote Gregory Ellwood for HitFix. "Her performance in 'Playbook' deservedly ranks alongside her Oscar nominated turn in 2007’s 'Winter’s Bone.' It's not a reach to suggest her Academy peers may recognize her once more this January."
De Niro, who plays Cooper's onscreen father in the film, is also getting some of his best reviews in recent memory. ("[His] best role in years," wrote Kohn.)
The Weinstein Company will release "Silver Linings Playbook" on Nov. 21. While it was assumed the studio had Oscar heavyweights with both "The Master" and "Django Unchained" in its stable this year, perhaps Russell's follow-up to "The Fighter" (which was Best Picture nominee in 2010) will be the film that winds up going all the way.
Check out reactions to "Silver Linings Playbook" below.