Title: The Words

Cast: Dennis Quaid, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Irons and Olivia Wilde

Writing is a fundamental practice in communication. To make yourself understood through written words is probably the most engaging and intimate feeling you can have with someone without actually meeting them. Through your words is how we know you. So in Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal’s film, “The Words,” examines the truth behind words but only does it in a piecemeal, surface level and cinematically lazy way, that I question why couldn’t these words be more clear. After all, aspiring for mediocrity is a fool’s errand.

“The Words” follows the story of Clay Hammond (Dennis Quaid), a successful author with a new novel to promote. His publishers put on an event to showcase the new novel titled “The Words.” The film actually follows the story in the novel more so than the overall narrative of the movie. In the novel, Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper) is a struggling writer living in Brooklyn. He finished his new novel and is shopping it around to potential publishers with no luck. Rory is married to Dora (Zoe Saldana) and she supports him as he continues to become a successful writer. During their honeymoon in Paris, Dora buys Rory an old leather briefcase as a wedding gift, but inside the briefcase holds the future for both Rory and Dora.

“The Words” is a crossword puzzle jumbled mess of a movie. It’s “Inception-esque” narrative doesn’t work without a guide to led the audience to payoff. Starting a film with a book reading, then going into the content of the book through voice over narrative throughout is tedious to watch as the audience doesn’t have anything to ground themselves. But the real problems of this film come in the middle of the second act when another character (Jeremy Irons) is introduced in the novel to bring clarity to the overall story in that novel. If you’re confused already, you’re not the only one.

The structure of “The Words” is extremely problematic considering a majority of the film plays out in the novel and then in a flashback with the novel as the novel is being read to you. Finding some sort of key to this film may lay with the performance of Jeremy Irons. He gives so much to this material to elevate from the page. His performance lends to honest emotion and drama, which is embarrassing to everyone else in the film. Everything seems so wasted.

But once the book has ended, the narrative continues with Clay Hammond and a mysterious woman (Olivia Wilde) who is infatuated with his work. But once this storyline becomes the main narrative it’s hard to get an emotional or intellectual catharsis because the filmmakers never established how this is important and why should we care. That reasoning couldn’t engage myself in the novel’s narrative, let alone the film as a whole. What a mess! For a movie titled “The Words” is pretty poorly written.

Technical: C-

Overall: C-

by @Rudie_Obias