The Words2012
The Words (2012)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Neither as clever nor as interesting as it appears to think it is, The Words maroons its talented stars in an overly complex, dramatically inert literary thriller that's ultimately a poor substitute for a good book.
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Movie Info
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Cast
as Rory Jansen
as The Old Man
as Clay Hammond
as Dora Jansen
as Daniella
as Young Man
as Richard Ford
as Nelson Wylie
as Mr. Jansen
as Dan Zuckerman
as Vendor

as New York Apartment Doorman
as Timothy Epstein
as Jason Rosen

as Camy Rosen
as Celia

as Dave Farber
as Soldier #1

as Soldier #2

as Soldier #3
as Joseph Cutler

as Rory's Mother

as Nick Weinstein

as Brett Cropsey

as Fordham's Assistant

as Fordham's Assistant

as Clay Hammond's Assistant

as Paris Doctor

as Conductor

as Journalist

as Celia's Husband

as Celia's Child

as Hotel Desk Clerk
as Woman on the Bus

as Cynthia

as Joyce Weinstein
as Elderly Man

as Elderly Woman
as Fan
News & Interviews for The Words
Critic Reviews for The Words
All Critics (119) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (28) | Rotten (91) | DVD (3)
A mostly middling drama.
The story-within-a-story-within-a-story is so slight and inconsequential, like the tiniest of a set of Russian nesting dolls, that we may be forgiven for letting our minds wander toward bedtime and tomorrow's errands.
The premise is ambitious -- if not a little hokey -- but the meager themes of ephemeral authorship and constructed realities aren't exactly revelatory.

Bradley Cooper's funniest movie since "The Hangover" - unfortunately, unintentionally this time ...
This film's layered storytelling lacks the fluidity, grace, or good humour, to pull off its conceit.

Romanticized claptrap.

Audience Reviews for The Words
There is virtually nothing that works in this convoluted, nonsensical and terribly-written drama in which not even the visuals escape the artificial and clichéd, and so everything is a complete failure, from the expository narration to the ridiculous story-within-a-story-within-a-story structure.
Super Reviewer
The ability to write should be first among the qualifications required to write a movie about a writer... but all through this film, all I could think was, "No one involved with this film has ever written anything!" And the attempt to lean on narration - it's like the book you're reading! - falls completely flat, as it's never quite clear who is supposed to be narrating, or (of course) who would read a book were it this badly written. I'd recommend You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger well before this one, which has a similar plot but comes from Woody Allen, who may have written a thing or two before the present movie. I really like the premise, and the talented cast does its best with this disastrous script, but unfortunately The Words is much more about the idea of being a writer than it is a believable story of anything a writer might think/want/do.
Super Reviewer
People didn't like this much. Why?..because of the story, inside of a story, and partly inside another story? or because of the ending that left you wondering what was really true? I found this movie mesmerizing. There isn't one bad actor in this, that is for sure. The story was heartbreaking, and intriguing. It was beautifully done, and left me with a feeling of awe. Usually, endings like this one make me really mad. For some reason, this ending seemed to fit the movie...
Super Reviewer
The Words Quotes
Clay Hammond: | You have to choose between life and fiction. The two are very close, but they never actually touch. They're two very, very different things. |
The Old Man: | We all make difficult choices in life. The hard thing is to live with them. |
The Old Man: | Was he a writer? (In reference to Hemingway.) |
The Old Man: | Was he a writer? [in reference to Hemingway] |
The Old Man: | We all make choices. The hard thing is to live with them, and there ainâ??t nobody that can help you with that. |
The Old Man: | We all make choices. The hard thing is to live with them, and there ain't nobody that can help you with that. |