Went to the Walmart RedBox was looking for a Sat Night flick with the wife. I had been by there before a few days ago, but didn't come home with anything. All I saw was movies that I want to watch Batman, Prometheus, Avengers, etc. so I played good husband again and didn't bring anything home. This time I said, "your pick." A little back and forth and we decide on "The Words". I didn't check rotten tomatoes, knew it would be troubling because i knew that basic overview of the story, and its got quite a lineup; B Coop, J Irons, O Wilde, Z Saldana, D Quaid (who get prime billing by the way).
I just now checked the Rotten Tomatoes 22%. Yikes.
Its so hard to give thoughts on movies without completely ruining them to people who haven't seen them. I don't think a lot of people have seen this, so if I can somehow convince you to see this movie I would be pleased.
3 Stories about writing...
A middle aged man, Quaid, is reading excerpts from his new book at its release party.
His book is the story of a young writer (Cooper) comes across an incredible story that has never been published. A story he found in a old leather briefcase he found in Paris. He is an aspiring writer who has lost all hope, because his work will never be good enough.
"I'm not who I thought I was... and I'm terrified that I never will be."
He doesn't have that intangible Hemingway ability to go to that place that really connects with the soul of the reader. In this story he finds everything he wishes he could ever dream to write. He decides to re-type it on his computer to feel what it would be like to write it. He doesn't change a letter, not even misspelled words.
B Coops wife Z Saldana randomly finds the story on this computer. "It's so different from anything you've ever done before." At that time she saw in him everything she ever knew he could be. She told him it showed parts of him that she always knew was there, but was never able to get them out in any of his other books.
So it goes… He publishes the book, becomes famous, they even publish all his other books. An old man, J Irons, enters the movie and follows Cooper to a park bench and says its his book. That he wrote it. You then go into the what the book was about as the old man tells the story behind the story. A story of love, war, horrible loss, regret and how a young man wrote through it and it saved his life.
The story goes on and the 3 stories weave there way together and dilemma arise in all three, but at the heart of it is what will Cooper do? Come out as a fraud to world and his wife or continue to live the "Fiction".
Please watch it to see what unfolds, its not at all what you would expect and the Story the old man tells is truly moving. And it ties back in to Quaids story about Life vs Fiction. Please somebody see it. It's well worth your dollar and 2 hours.
My favorite part though is my fav part of any movie. Narrative Identity… What would I do in that situation? The movie is quite melodramatic, but i think it helps because it gives to time to process the the deep deep motives, pains, and anxiety of the characters. I thought it was quite beautiful.
The perfect scene is when Zoe tells Cooper what she thinks about him because she thought he wrote the book. The word choice she had was perfect to show how difficult the choice would really be. It actually gave me a scenario in which I don't know what I would have done. To be told that I had fulfilled all the expectations that my wife and family had always had of me.
It didn't connect with my wife the same way and it showed me the different motives of men and women. Respect vs Love to simply put it.
- - -
Let me throw this out there too.
The movie is also very much about writing.
Can someone really write something that connects with the human soul unless they've gone through great trial?
Can we truly understand and more-so can we express feelings that we have never have really been through in real life?
JP
Deserves at least to be in the 60's range on Rotten Tomatoes.
They missed the point on this one.
and D Quaid is not aging well in HD.
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