Also Known As Pictures, Benaroya Pictures, Animus Films,
Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, Ben Barnes, J.K. Simmons, John Hannah, Nora Arnezeder, Michael McKean, Zeljko Ivanek, Ron Rifkin, Liz Stauber, Gianpaolo Venuta
Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper) has always striven to be a writer. His writing was pretty good, but he just wasn’t able to make it, and was about to give up, when he accidentally finds a manuscript, neatly typed, in an old briefcase. Rory quickly types it into his laptop, claiming it was his work, and it is a great novel. He soars to the top of the charts and his star is rising fast in the literary world, but deep inside he knows he didn’t write it. When he meets and old man (Jeremy Irons) on a bench who has a copy of his book, he begins to tell a story to Rory that will change his life. The consequences to him of plagiarizing this book has far reaching effects to this basically honest, but torn up man.
The Words is a very touching story. When the old man starts telling the story, we get to visualize the story and the meaning of the work, and we find ourselves drawn in to exactly what Rory has done. But do we really? This is a very thought provoking film, and the ending is very unsatisfying, in a way, because it’s so open ended. You can ponder for weeks about what the ending means. It’s intentionally (I feel) left open ended to allow you to ponder about what’s fact and what’s fiction. Just one hint though, as I don’t want to give a way any spoilers, but the first few minutes is rather confusing unless you’re paying attention very closely. In the very beginning, Cory (Dennis Quaid) is reading his story about Rory (Bradley Cooper) who is the main character in the story. But Rory gets to hear a story from “the old man” which is a story in a story in a story. This film twists you and turns you and flops itself upside down several times, but this is a awesome movie.
It’s hard to classify, as many people file it under romance, which it really isn’t though there is a love story in it. Some put it under the thriller category, and although there is a bit of suspense, it’s certainly not mainly a suspense movie either. What it’s really about is ethics and the result of going against your conscience. Without really judging, it’s about the results of making a bad choice and having to live with it. There’s a lot going on here, and it’s a very cerebral story, but I did really enjoy it. I was touched by the beauty of this well crafted work. The story is the king here, and it’s a great story. The actors do a wonderful job telling the story, and the deeper we get pulled into the action, the more we like it.
If you are a fan of car chases and big crashes, or side splitting comedy, this isn’t for you, but if you like a well crafted character piece with lots to think about, and well developed characters, this is an excellent film. It feels a bit rushed, as it could have been a lot longer, but I think it was done this way to keep it at a reasonable length. That is the only complaint I could offer. But the story is so good, that I found myself fascinated by the entire movie. I liked this one!
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