Words, The

Synopsis: Middle-aged Clay Hammond (Dennis Quaid) reads from his new novel to a rapt audience. It’s about Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), young, handsome, with a gorgeous girlfriend Dora (Zoe Saldana) whom he met in college. He and Dora marry and on their Paris honeymoon, Dora buys Rory a classic old writer’s valise. Some time later, Rory discovers inside it a hidden, yellowing manuscript, which he reads and wishes he had written himself. He types the story into his laptop, the first in a series of mistakes that leads to his publishing the novel as his own. Rory gets the recognition he so craves, but at what price?

As I wrote in my recent review of Ruby Sparks (2011), it’s a tough thing to show a writer’s inner turmoil on screen. There’s a limit to how much time you can watch a character pacing the floor or ripping their hair out, and because Rory is a writer, we already know that he is a tortured soul.

Screenwriters/directors Klugman and Sternthal have chosen the device of a story told in flashback and for this tale it mostly works although at times the narrative logic seems a little rough around the edges. Perhaps the editing wasn’t quite right. Notwithstanding, The Words captures well the splendid isolation of the writer and over time reveals Rory to be an interesting mixture of hubris and naïveté.

There is an impressive cast all of whom turn in effective performances although I thought the supports shone brightest of all, especially J.K. Simmons as Rory’s “Mr Reliable” loving dad, and Olivia Wilde as Daniella, the ambitious graduate student, both of whom effortlessly play their roles. I always look forward to seeing Jeremy Irons, but wonder if his patrician presence was misplaced in his role as a labourer/war veteran. There are also visually splendid scenes of World War II era set in France and the USA. Inner city Paris has been well recreated. As a low budget picture, that is especially admirable (the film was shot in Canada).

As a drama/romance, The Words is an enjoyable experience for both the performances and the recreation of a bygone era, as well as for a number of rich ironies which any writer in the audience will appreciate.

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