The Words

There is no way of writing a review of The Words without giving spoilers. So, if you’re deathly afraid of hints, stay away and don’t read any further. However, there would be no earthly way I could get you to rent The Words if I told you that this is a tale about a young author who can’t get his book published.

So, I’ll add to that story by saying that, after three discouraging years of writing and getting no interest from publishers, he comes across a fully written novel, apparently out of the past, a forgotten remnant hidden in an old valise in a Parisian antique store. He recognizes immediately that the story, the style of writing, is just as how he had always wanted to be able to write. So much so that he convinces himself for a moment that he, himself, had written it, even though he knows deep down he did not, and has no idea who did. So he gives it to a publisher who recognizes a best seller and publishes it.

This story isn’t linear at all, but circular. In fact, it’s a story within a story within a story. I found myself mystified at each level, wondering what will come next. Such a simple story. Yet, as it turned out, not so simple at all.

Bradley Cooper stars in The Words.  Cooper is getting quite a deserved reputation for not trading in on the success of such films as The Hangover by appearing in special, smaller films like The Silver Linings Playbook and, yes, The Words.

Thumb’s up.