Tali's Movie Reviews

[Taliesin]

I review movies for Life is Story, and on my personal blog...

I'll try to keep them all in this thread.

[Eskarina]

Awesome! Looking forward to reading these.

[gwenhyver42]

Awesomeness!

[Taliesin]

I thought about going back through all my old reviews and posting them here, but it'd take forever, so i might post them weekly during the times when a new one isn't posted.

Anyways, here's an all new review of the romantic drama The Words

[Eskarina]

I would like to read it, but the site doesn't load on my iPad.

Is there an app for that?

[Taliesin]

hmmm no idea. But I'll mention that to Josh.

[Taliesin]

Well for now, I'm just gonna post my reviews in the text box and link to the original.

Genre: Film
Director: Brian Klugman
Producer: CBS Films
Release Date: 2012
Reviewed by Justin Hanvey
QUICK HIT – The Words is a romantic drama about a writer and the woman he loves. It sets up three different stories, that of the writer as an older man, that of him as a younger man, and that of another writer who he steals a story from. The theme throughout is of not allowing what we love to overshadow who we love.

There are many layers to “The Words”, a movie that seems to be about one thing, but could just as easily be about another.

Clayton Hammond is an older man, a writer who has lived his life in luxury because of the many books he’s written and their critical acclaim. The movie begins with him reading from one of his new novels, titled The Words, where he describes a young writer, Rory Jansen, and his wife Dora. Rory is a struggling writer, who works as a mailboy in a publishing firm, and while on their honeymoon Rory comes across a manuscript in an old bag. Taken in by the story, and disenchanted with his own because no one will publish it, Rory types up the manuscript on his computer, wanting to “feel the words as they flow through his hands.” and his wife inadvertently comes across it and reads it later on, mistaking it for his own work. She convinces him to take it to the publisher and he doesn’t correct her mistake, instead deciding to publish it as his own work. The novel is well-received, and Rory and Dora bask in the glow of stardom. He meets an old man later on, who tells him he is the original author, and describes to him the story that led to him writing the novel. Rory is devastated and tries to make amends, but nothing works.

Rory’s story is interrupted at times as we return to Clayton Hammond, who we find out is possibly telling his own story, he and his wife are separated, and he deals with guilt over that loss.

But the stories intertwine, and we’re never really told if the story of Rory is the true one, or if Clayton is working out more than one demon here by writing it. Is he guilty for allowing his novel to become more important to him than his wife, or is he guilty for stealing another man’s novel? We’re never very sure.

But in the end, we are sure that the central theme seems to be not allowing what we love to overshadow who we love. His guilt, whether it be for stealing the novel, or stealing his own life with his wife, is a guilt that is powerful and penetrating.

And the story itself, in all its layers, is indeed a powerful story, but the way the story is told is quite flawed—interrupted by Clayton’s narration and the old man’s story. This kind of narration sometimes works in movies, but not so much in this one, as it just makes the story uneven, and a bit chaotic.

While we may get a good message, the message itself is a bit muddled, and the film is a bit too into itself. Not as great as it seems, but if one if willing to sift through the annoying parts, has a message worth finding.

[Stavie]

Nice review. I'd never heard of the film, but I feel like you provide a broad enough description of it to justify your thoughts on the movie. Review writing has never been one of my strengths, so I envy you in that. Keep them coming.

[Taliesin]

[Eskarina]

I love Zach Braff...how have I not seen this movie?

Sounds like its going on the date night list.

[Stavie]

The color based metaphors sound pretty awesome. I don't know that I've ever seen something like that done in film before, at least not to the extent you described.