The Words

The Words (2012)
Directed by: Brian Klugman
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 22%

I stated in my Oscar Predictions and also in my review of Silver Linings Playbook that I love it when an actor steps out of their comfort zone. Bradley Cooper continues to impress me (Hangover 3 notwithstanding). He is constantly challenging himself; taking different roles; not getting comfortable. The Words is no exception. I had seen this film advertised months ago and had a small desire to see it but, alas, the desire was not strong enough. I had forgotten about it until I was at RedBox this evening. As I sorted through the titles I had already seen I began to lose hope; that my trek into the storms had been in vain. I saw The Words on the last page of available titles so I got it. This review is going to be a little more spoiler laden than normal because of the nature of the film. I will try and keep things concise and vague (at points), but in order to discuss the film as a whole I feel it is necessary to delve into some key details.

Clay Hammond (Dennis Quaid) is a well known novelist. He has just released his latest book, The Words, and has been invited to read excerpts from it at a public reading. Clay begins to tell the story of Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper); an aspiring young novelist that has just sold his first book. We see Rory accepting an award for his accomplishment but then Clay backtracks a little to tell how Rory has gotten to where he is. He details Rory's early struggles as an unpublished writer. Rejection letters flooded Rory's mailbox and his father continually doubts his son's ability to write. Dora (Zoe Saldana), Rory's wife, never doubts his ability and she supports his endeavor. While the two take a trip to Paris, Rory finds an old satchel in an antique shop. Dora thinks it suits him so she purchases it. When the two return home, Rory begins to transfer manuscripts to the satchel and finds something tucked away in an inner pocket. What he finds is a novel that had been written many years before by an unknown author. He reads the story and is enthralled by the beauty in the writing. He marvels at how taut the voice is. Rory struggles with knowledge of the story. Does he tell someone; does he throw it away; does he declare it is his? One night, as his thoughts plague him, he decides to get up and transfer the story to his laptop. Dora finds the story and insists that he tell a publisher. We then see that this novel is the one that Rory is being awarded for in the beginning of the story. However, there are consequences when the actual author reads his own words attributed to another person. The Old Man (Jeremy Irons) finds Rory and regales him with his story; the one that Rory stole.

First of all, this shot:


happens at least five times during the course of the film.

There were only two different ones on Google Images.

That's not really important but it was kind of jarring. The Words is, to give some context, almost exactly like Inception. Not in the fact that they are stealing dreams or constantly running from a psychotic, curly haired monster. It is like Inception in that it is extremely complicated at times. As I said before, this review is going to get spoilery so you've been warned. The film starts with Clay telling the story of Rory. Rory has written a story within the story that Clay is telling. It turns out that the story Rory is telling, really happened to The Old Man. He wrote it down and lost it only for it to be discovered years later. The layers begin to intertwine and the plot begins to get muddled a bit. Perhaps the only real technical aspect of The Words occurs during The Old Man's flashbacks. The scenes have a dream-like tone; like sepia tone. This is, of course, short hand for the viewer. We know that these scenes are supposed to have occurred many years ago because that's what the pictures looked like. I am not knocking the technique just pointing out it isn't original.

The Words was better than I thought it would be, but it is not great. The story drags in the middle as The Old Man ambles on about his time in Paris. I forgot that Bradley Cooper was in the movie I was watching, and was surprised when I saw Dennis Quaid again. I feel that it loses its direction which really hurts the overall appeal of the film. I was engaged in Rory's story but I am torn out of that while I am forced to watch the life story of The Old Man (I really wish they'd given him a name). Once The Old Man finishes his I-know-your-secret story the pace gets kicked into overdrive. Resolutions happen too quickly and a very messy situation is wrapped up quite nicely.

No BS

The Words was enjoyable. As the credits rolled, I was happy that I had seen it. I felt that the attempt was admirable and that it was pulled off pretty well. At its heart, I feel this is a love story (depressing but still, a love story). On another note, according to Wikipedia, Klugman was accused of ripping off a German novel called Lila, Lila. How about that irony?

My Score: 6.5/10