The Words

The Words...

It's funny that with a movie so focused on writing, and quite literally, words, I am having a hard time finding the proper ones to use in order to form this review. So first, a small summary.

The Words starts us off with Dennis Quaid reading an audience a story. The story is about Bradley Cooper's Rory, and Zoe Saldana's Dora. They are a young couple who is struggling because Rory is a writer that just can't catch a break. They get married, honeymoon in Paris, and buy an antique briefcase. Once back in the states, Rory finds a story, a raw, real, powerful story about life, within the briefcase. So what does he do with it? And in true Rath's Review fashion, that is where I stop the synopsis...wouldn't want to ruin the story for you. But The Words is intricate; it is a story within a story within a story. Despite this, I was never confused, but I was suspicious about how Dennis Quaid's story tied into everything.  After all of the transport between stories, the story begins to wrap itself up nicely but falters slightly when it comes to the very end. Disappointing for a movie that took such an elaborate path to get us there. 

Story #1: the young couple with a new child, living in post-war Paris

You may have noticed, if you keep up with those types of things, that critics have been harsh on The Words. They say that there is no emotional connection to which I say: I'd both agree and disagree. I found myself very emotionally attached to the young couple of an American man and French woman. As far as everyone else? Not so much. They also say that the plot is overly complicated. To which, again, I say I agree and disagree. It is a story that could have been told much simpler. But then it would have just been another movie wouldn't it? And they also say that the story is nothing to care about. And guess what I have to say: I agree and disagree. About half way through the film, I found myself thinking, "Man, I could care less about this story.". And by the end, I had to know what had happened. I needed to have resolution. 

Story #2: the lost, young writer looking to become what
he thinks he should be

Story #3: the famous author struggling with who he is
and what he has done in his past...Oh and Olivia Wilde looks
damn fine doesn't she?

I have an opinion about The Words and it is that it was never meant to be a riveting story, or an acting powerhouse (although all of the performances are very well done, especially Cooper), and it wasn't even meant to be a film designed to tell a familiar story in a new way. No...The Words was a movie designed to tell a tale about life, and specifically choices we make in life. "Life is all about choices. The hard part is living with those choices." Says the Old Man in the film. And that quote hit me right between the eyes. It is so true. And it is the message that The Words is trying to convey. Does it do it perfectly and make me rethink aspects of my life? No. However, it presents the stories of three men who have made choices in their lives, choices that changed their lives, and goes on to explain how they have to live with them.

I'll say this: I found The Words to be boring, overly complicated, and unimportant. But I'll be damned if I didn't do a little bit of higher thinking throughout the film and after it. And for a movie that is, on the surface, about writing and literature, I found a deep part of myself involved in the tale, loving the complication, and thinking that what this movie had to say was important after all. 

Pros:

• The acting is great and everyone carries their weight
• As someone who has a passion to one day publish, I found the story probably more interesting than most
• Filmed well. I thought that I was going to get confused, but the transitions between the stories is done flawlessly and I knew where each one was at at any given time
• The film has something important to stay underneath all of the plot and I think it did so successfully (mostly)

Cons:

• In all honestly, it can definitely be a snoozefest. That's what you get with indie movies sometimes
• Looking back, I really could have cared less about the story as a whole. But then that begs the question: why did I so badly want to find out what happened?
• The ending falters a bit. I thought it was going to wrap up nicely, and it did for the most part. But I still have some unanswered curiosities

Rath's Review Score: 6.5/10

Im going to start something new from now on, and include the trailer to the movie at the end of my reviews. That way, if you have never heard of the film you can get a little taste for what it is about and the style.