The Words

Plot synopsis:
Clayton Hammond (Dennis Quaid), a famous author, attends a public reading of his new book, The Words, centered on Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), an aspiring writer who lives in New York City with his girlfriend, Dora (Zoe Saldana). With the help of his father (J. K. Simmons), Rory gets a job as a mail supervisor in a literary agency and attempts to sell his first novel, which is repeatedly rejected by publishers.After living together for some time, Rory and Dora marry and, during their honeymoon in Paris, Dora presents Rory with a gift, an old briefcase from an antiques store. Returning to America, Rory finds an old but masterfully written manuscript in the briefcase with a central character named Jack. Rory types the manuscript into his laptop. Later, while using the laptop, Dora happens upon the novel and reads it. Assuming her husband wrote it, Dora encourages him to meet with a publisher, Joseph Cutler (eljko Ivanek), who offers Rory a contract after reading the manuscript, which Rory accepts. The book is a hit and Rory becomes famous.At this point, Hammond takes a break from the reading and goes backstage, where he is introduced by his agent (John Hannah) to Daniella (Olivia Wilde), a student and amateur writer who wants to interview him and notes that he is separated from his wife, although he still wears a wedding ring. Hammond agrees to meet her after the ceremony and returns to the stage, where he continues to read the book.The second part of the reading details Rorys encounter with an unnamed old man (Jeremy Irons) in New York City's Central Park, who reveals himself as the true author of the manuscript and that it was based on his life in Paris. Irons's character explains that he was a young man (played by Ben Barnes) when first stationed in France by the US Army in the final days of World War II where he fell in love with Celia (Nora Arnezeder), a French waitress. They eventually married and had a daughter, but the baby died shortly after birth. Unable to cope with the loss, Celia left him and moved to her parents' house. He then used his pain as inspiration to write the manuscript, which he took to Celia while visiting her at her parents home. She found the story so moving that she chose to return to him. However, she unintentionally left the manuscript in a briefcase on the train after her trip back to Paris, thereby losing it. The scene shifts to the present and the old man explains that he and Celia tried to repair their marriage but they eventually divorced. Irons's character leaves Rory sitting alone on a park bench.The public reading ends and Hammond tells his fans they must buy the book to learn how it ends. Daniella then accompanies Hammond back to his apartment where she pressures him into telling her more. Hammond explains that Rory tells the truth about the creation of the story, first to his wife and then to Cutler, his publisher. Also, Rory tells Cutler he wants to credit the old man as the true author. Cutler angrily advises against this as it would severely damage both their reputations and recommends giving the old man a share of the book's profits instead.Rory then seeks out the old man to pay him and finds him working in a plant nursery. Irons's character refuses the money but, after doing so, reveals that while once riding a train to work, years after his divorce, he spotted Celia with a new husband and a baby girl at a train station. The old man points out that people always move on from their mistakes as Rory will too.Daniella continues to pressure Hammond for more details. He reveals that the old man dies not long after Rorys second meeting with him along with the secret about who the manuscript's author really is. However, Rory cant move on emotionally and is tormented by nightmares until he focuses his grief on another book, one that allows him to tell the true story of the manuscript.Impressed with this, Daniella passionately kisses Hammond on the mouth but he pulls away, apparently unsure about whether to become romantically involved with another woman. However, in that moment, he remembers Rory lying in Dora's arms as she tells him everything will be alright, suggesting The Words is an autobiographic book with Rory as Hammond's surrogate.

Tags: dramatic, romantic

Review:
Hammond's reading takes us into the life of his character, Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), a young author struggling to publish his books make ends meet.
Rory publishes the manuscript under his own name and struggles with the repercussions, while in "real life," Hammond flirts with a young college student named Daniella (Olivia Wilde) at his sophisticated book reading.
The story expands when the true author of Jansen's novel (Jeremy Irons, the "Old Man") approaches Jansen and reveals his heart-wrenching account of the loss of his manuscript and family.
It is telling of our culture to pass by a story, full of such raw, human, emotion, with dis-contempt and frailty.'The Words' is a movie about life, mistakes and the pain we can all feel inside, and it is this ability to relate that makes it so powerful.
He is perfect as the young 'old man' in Paris after the war.I almost never like stories within a story, now do I like stories about authors or actors, they always seem so navel-gazing, but this movie trumps all of those problems in such an amazing excellent way.
The narrator (good choice for Dennis Quaid, especially for His voice) will read for You, Jeremy Irons ("the old man"-a wonderful play of course), Bradley Cooper (just slightly under the other two great actors), Dennis Quaid, Zoe Saldana (good enough), Olivia Wilde (bad choice), Ben Barnes (nice play) and the others, will told the story in a great acting.
However, if you are able to enjoy a movie in spite of silly reviewers questioning the ending, the plot twists, or perhaps and don't require countless Dukes of Hazard-style car chase scenes and seeing the nude bodies of the leading ladies...
This film is about a young struggling writer who makes it big with a manuscript that he did not write."The Words" tells the tale of a struggling writer who has to face moral choices after stealing a manuscript.
While subdued and a little slow-moving, THE WORDS is a good--and not too heavy-handed--modern morality tale of how one serious act of dishonesty irreversibly affects a writer's entire life and career.
Along with "the old man"'s embedded tale, the conversations between best-selling author Clay Hammond and fan/aspiring author Daniella are easily the most engaging aspects of this film.Anyone with interests in fiction writing, the publishing industry, and/or related subjects will probably find THE WORDS a compelling enough film; those without such interests, however, may find it pretty dull.
Jeremy Irons is marvellously convincing as an old man, Dennis Quaid is gut-wrenching as a man haunted by his regrets, Brad Coooper, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, and the beautiful Nora Arnezeder are all superb as the main players in this film, which will be difficult for anyone who sees it ever to forget.
The cast have all impressed me in previous films; so, I was anxious to watch it.But, the story doesn't even really get going until almost halfway through; and, you would think that we would be compelled to feel something for the characters by then...
This leads to...Story Two, the main story, which shows an author's solitary life is not a romantic one, unless you're handsome Bradley Cooper who plays Rory, a writer who has difficulty with his next novel now.
That is until one day when his loving wife ( Zoe Saldana ) buys him an antique briefcase which happens to contain a lost manuscript by another nameless writer, henceforth named the Old Man ( Jeremy Irons ).
This, of course, leads our conflicted Rory to a moral and ethical crossroads and takes us to...Story Three, in which a young WWII soldier falls for a French woman, played by Ben Barnes and Nora Arnezeder, who love and suffer as beautifully as they look.
It's reassuring, in an age of big budget blockbusters and banal romantic comedies, to have a super film such as The Words that depends on a mature multi layered script and fine acting to bring to the screen a compelling story.I normally would go into a film when discussing it,but I don't want to be a spoiler in this case.
In New York, the aspirant writer Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper) has written a novel but the editors do not accept to publish it since the story is intimist and non-commercial.
Rory seats on the bench again and the old man tells a dramatic story of pain and loss to him."The Words" is an excellent movie about words and the thin line between fiction and reality.
The writers and directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal make an outstanding work supported by a fantastic cast with the names of Jeremy Irons, Bradley Cooper, Dennis Quaid, Zoe Saldana, Olivia Wilde and J.K. Simmons.
The movie of choice this time is Bradley Cooper's latest film entitled the Words, a tale about a struggling writer that discovers a story unlike any he has read.
This act of having the Old Man, Jeremy Irons, tell the tale of Rory's novel, helps to explain how such a feat was created.
The authors (and directors and actors in the film) Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal offer their audience a cinematic experience in the manner in which writers think and work, a story that goes beyond 'words' to philosophy and in the telling of this layered tale of a story about a story about a story they honor the intelligence of the viewer - a refreshing stance in this time of sci-fi, comic book, potty mouth slapstick etc films that crowd the marquees and bring in the bucks.Much of the joy of the film is in the telling: we are left to figure out just what is reality and what is fiction, what is original and what is plagiarism, and who in the final analysis is telling the real tripartite story we have witnessed.
The story is narrated by Clay Hammond (Dennis Quaid) who has written a book about a man Rory (Bradley Cooper) who found fame after years of frustration as a blocked writer when he discovered an old manuscript in a valise and falls in love with the story, copies it verbatim, has it published, and gains fame and fortune - yet always is concerned that he plagiarized some unknown writer's work.
We are left wonder what is fact and what is fiction, and the question is posed as to what have we really have observed.The actors from each section of this tripartite tale offer exemplary performances: Bradley Cooper and Zoë Saldaña make a credible couple caught up in the frustrations of an early writer's career, Jeremy Irons is solid as are the characters in the life he has described with written words (Ben Barnes and Nora Arnezeder), the various publishing industry people (Zeljko Ivanek, Ron Rifkin), and smaller parts by Liz Stauber, J.K. Simmons, Olivia Wilde and others.
The main plot line follows Rory Jansen, a young man struggling to find himself as a writer—that is, until he finds a story he didn't write and gets it published.
None other than Dennis Quaid, who is also portrayed as a writer in the film.I will say that I thought Rory's struggle to find himself as a writer was portrayed pretty well through the screen writing and by Cooper's acting.
And I think the fact that he looked like the average human while he was writing symbolized that the only time Rory was truly himself was when he was writing, when he was at home with the words—which, I think, is a huge part of this film.The ending, without giving anything away, is very ambiguous, to say the least.
In my opinion, I do think this kind of story calls for an ending like this, no matter how annoying it may be to some viewers.As previously mentioned, I'm not a huge fan of the stars in this film.
And yes, the plot line is obviously important, but I felt like the writers could have done something more with Daniella's character so that it wouldn't feel like she was awkward and useless.I would recommend The Words to anyone who wants to be a writer—there are a lot of lessons to be learned from this film.
The idea is new and it makes me feel that there are still great stories to be illustrated.Telling the story in a mysterious way is an advantage ,I suppose; because it provokes a kind of desire inside you for following the characters and guessing what is the real story behind these words..
***SPOILERS*** What is a story within a story movie about a struggling writer Rory Jansen, Bradley Cooper, who comes up with a best seller that he found in a battered suitcase in a Paris gift shop while on his honeymoon with his wife Dora,Zoe Saldana.
It turns out that the parson who in fact did write the story only known as "the Old Man", Jeremy Irons, comes out of hiding, for the last 50 or so years, and makes life a living hell for him.
The confusion goes on until the final minutes of the movie as Hammond tells his story about the life and times of Rory Jenson to a girl that he just met Daniella, Olivia Wlde, who's soon to realize his secret identity of Rory Jansen!
As for the "Old Man" he's completely out of it throughout the entire film in his greenhouse where by growing plants and flowers as he tries to forget his past that Rory or better yet Hammoond dug up with the book that he wrote!Strang confusing but interesting movie that leaves you hanging in the end to just what the hell is going on in it about love found love lost and finally love forgotten in the case of the "Old Man" who now becomes the main obsession in Rory or Hammond's life.
It's when the "Old Man" who's heart couldn't take it, the book that he wrote that was stolen right from under his nose, anymore and suddenly died that both Hammond, or the fictitious Rory Jansen, finally got his act together and continued his life as the great American writer that he knows in his heart of hearts that he isn't.
"The Words" is a 2012 film starring Dennis Quaid, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Irons, and Olivia Wilde, written and directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal."The Words" begins with an author, Clay Hammond (Quaid) reading part of his book in front of a live audience.
He tells the story of a struggling young writer, Rory (Cooper) who is a good writer, but can't seem to get his work published.
Finally he retypes it and passes it off as his own, and enjoys great success.One day sitting in the park, he meets an Old Man (Irons) who compliments him on his work, and says he has a story of his own.
The Old Man says, "It's about a man who wrote a book and the pis**-ant who stole it." This is a beautiful film, a story within a story within a story - there's the scenario of Hammond reading his book and talking with the reporter, there's Rory's story as told in the book The Words, and the Old Man's story that he wrote -- with wonderful performances by everyone involved, which includes Olivia Wilde as a reporter who wants more information from Hammond and Zeljko Ivanek as Rory's publisher.The film asks the question, can we live with our mistakes and move on, or are we always tainted by them?
This is far from perfect in filmmaking terms, but as far as a drama goes, it's smart enough to keep you in-tuned, which is sometimes the biggest battle for dramas.The plot begins with author Raymond Hammond (Dennis Quaid), giving a public reading of his newest novel titled "The Words," about a young writer named Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), who has never been given the time of day by any publisher because his novel is seen as too ambitious, subtle, and experimental for the mainstream public.
His father (J.K. Simmons) sees him as immature and clinging to a dead-dream, reluctantly loaning him money, his wife Dora (Zoe Saldana) believes in him but doesn't see his dream going very far either, and Rory is beginning to question if being a writer is even worth it in the long-run.After Dora buys him an old accordion folder, Rory discovers it houses an entire story, handwritten, and complete with misspellings and a chillingly personal vibe.
Soon, Rory's novel is on bookshelves everywhere, but the guilt of plagiarism will come back to haunt him in the form of subtle, quietly manipulative confrontation.The brief introduction with Quaid, dare I say, unfortunately results in a story of its own, as he becomes romantically involved with Daniella (Olivia Wilde), an amateur author who wants an interview.
As a prolific writer, who is constantly thinking about ways to innovate my work and attract new readers, I can sympathize with Rory on a number of things on a personal level.The second is simply not being good enough, which will prove its thematic relevance throughout the whole story.
However, the film is composed of great performances, is never boring, features dark, clear cinematography that gives it an indescribably poetic feel, and features themes and commentary that will undoubtedly resonate with writers.Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Dennis Quaid, and Olivia Wilde.
Mostly because nothing happens and when something does happen, we know exactly what it is because we've been anticipating it for half the movie.Anticipate is likely too strong of a word as it can mean "look forward to." We don't so much look forward to the expected outcomes as sit quietly and very patiently in our theatre seats awaiting some kind of plot development.The opening third of the film is spent on the relationship between Rory and Dora (Zoe Saldana).
The story had a lasting impression on me after the movie was over and I kept wondering about it.IMMERSION: There's something about the way the characters are brought out that makes it all feel real.
Plus the background score feels like it's bringing out the story more clearly rather than just something playing in the background.OVERALL: A great movie experience.
I wanted some closure that would have connected the brilliance of the old man's novel which could have ultimately directly affected me.Perhaps, have me question my life more in depth, or even give an unorthodox inspiration for me (& viewers) to write such a great work of fiction (in the perpetual process).I think to a certain extent we all pass through from what's real and fiction.
2) To have a foundation "grant" large enough to build my dwellings (the reason I'm going to school) down the interior corridor of America for Native Americans and other nomadic people - "Heck, yeah." 3) But more than anything - and perhaps it is only a woman's response - but to be "held" in a Real hug and simply allowed to cry all the turmoil out, would be worth more to the Heart than "take a plant" or "Sir, I liked your book."Beyond that - Truly one of the most inspired movies I have ever seen AND probably the most honest.Could money ever make a man love a woman more than the Words she inspired?
I don't know how this movie ended up in my watch-list (probably because of the amazing Jeremy Irons) but I am so upset having wasted time on it I actually decided to write a review about it.
I don't want to sound like a filthy hipster, but if you give this movie more that a generous 6, you've probably not seen more that 10 films in your whole life..
I also really liked the message that the story tells, in the words on the old man, when he reflects on the reasons for his pain in life.Amazing performance by all the actors.Surprised the movie was rated bad on rotten tomatoes.
The movie involves three different stories with characters that are all tied to each other in the same main big story, referring to a man who wants to be a great writer, the old man who actually wrote the story that takes the writer to be famous and the story of a writer who reads the story of them two.
Whether you are reading the words yourself, hearing them narrated, watching the inspiring events, or hearing the tale from the one that experienced them, each unique perspective reinforces the diversity with which life and its choices are experienced differently by all who come in contact with them.This is what I see in this movie.
A story-within-a-story-within-a-story is the best way I can describe it and its cleverly done, following Bradley Cooper as a struggling writer who finds an old manuscript in a bag and before he knows what he's doing writes the entire thing up on his computer and then passes it off as his own.
Other than Olivia Wilde (miscast, I suppose, since I loved her in other movies), everyone acted beautifully, especially Ben Barnes, who brought his character to life, whose emotions need not be expressed in words but on his face.
The stories inspired by his wife, became more important than his wife, and his life was forever changed.B. Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper) made a choice to steal from another man.
But that was just my feeling at the end of this sensitive movie, and you are allowed to ignore it!Anyway, I have to tell the Jeremy Irons is simply astonishing as the Old Man and pays all the ticket value.
Unfortunately, the performance is dull too, which comes as a bit of a shock considering the cast it contains like Bradley Cooper, Denis Quaid, Jeremy Irons, Zoe Saldana and Olivia Wilde.
If you look forward to seeing this movie because of Bradley Cooper, Dennis Quaid, or Olivia, honestly The Words is not their best performance, if not their worst.
In other words, the kind of real life story that creates a story like the one Rory is getting credit for.