It is interesting to see the lighting that is used in a film when you are informed about its use and meaning. In Silver Linings Playbook, the lighting used appears to be three-point lighting. A romantic comedy, usually, does not contain three-point lighting; however, Silver Linings Playbook contains many scenes that rely on natural light and include no shadows. In most of the scenes light is coming from the back of the scene that is known as the backlight (Goodykootz & Jacobs, 2014).
Silver Linings Playbook benefits from the use of three-point lighting because it changes the intensity of the three lights depending on the scene. In one scene where the main male character, Pat, is upset after reading A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. He is talking aggressively to his parents while they are lying in bed, and the brightest light is coming from the bedside lamps. The use of the lamps as the brightest light creates a realistic view.
While typically romantic comedies, usually, use high-key lighting, Silver Linings Playbook seems make proper use of three-point lighting. The film is not a typical romantic comedy due to it focusing on Pat. It also adds in a darker element of mental illness due to Pat’s bipolar disorder, delusions, and violent outbursts. The use of three-point lighting allowed the mood whether sad, depressing or feel-good to also be displayed with the use of the lighting.
If the film made use of a different primary lighting technique, I do not think it would have been able to express the intricacy of the movie. The film contained some dark elements which would not have benefited from the use of high-key lighting. Also, the use of low-key lighting would have created too dark of a mood for the audience. Although the film did have darker moments, the movie focused on Pat overcoming his mental illness and falling back in love again.
References
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Morganster, Jessi. (2012, November 12). Silver linings playbook – hemingway. Retrieved September 25, 2014 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_1yZURAIjI
Bonnie's ENG 225 Movie Blog 