Pat Movie Psychology

Pat (Bradley Cooper) is released from a psychiatric hospital after a court-ordered 8-month commitment because of brutal assault on his wife’s lover. Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro) is a pathologically superstitious father who is obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles and gambling, and has some rage issues of his own. Dolores (Jacki Weaver) is a passive mother who nervously watches over the powder keg of family dynamics, hoping she can keep it from exploding with a forced smile and distracting food. The blow up is inevitable, and one scene is particularly well done and realistic—after Dolores is accidentally elbowed by Pat, father and son end up in a physical altercation while waking up the entire neighborhood. On the other hand, judged from the standards of realism in regard to

Similarly, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), Pat’s love interest, has her compulsive and self-destructive promiscuity explained too simplistically (a compensation for the guilt she feels for inadvertently causing the death of her husband because of a declining interest in sex). Also, the film wraps up the pieces much too neatly, suggesting that Pat and Tiffany’s successful performance in a dance contest and their passionate love for each other are enough to diffuse all of the simmering psychological and interpersonal tensions. Finally, the portrayal of the therapist, Dr. Patel (Anupam Kher) is problematic. He intentionally provokes Pat by playing a song that reminds him of a traumatic event, and later in the film, he completely abandons his professional role in favor of joining with Pat as a maniacal Eagles fan. At this point in the analysis, I am guessing that many mental health professionals are nodding their head in agreement while many movie fans are thinking—“Come