The Words

The character known as the old man has something of Hemingway, manuscripts that were lost, and this is also a story from Hemingway's life. But no, "The Words" is not a film about Hemingway. It is a film about an author who reads from his book about how another author wrote a book about someone else's life. Well, the whole thing is a bit more complicated, but more on that later. The film first appears to be a romance, but that's not what it's really about. However, it is not a film about literature either because how much is quoted here? How much does it refer to some significant ideas, such as those from Hemingway's work? There is a hint of the existence of some Shakespeare, but the film definitely does not rely on the fact that it is essential to know who the classics of world literature are, or even literature itself, whether it is completely fictional. We don't learn much about the main character, or rather the main narrator, to be more precise. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2013/02/the-words-2012-35.html (21/03/2013)

I’m quite shocked by the hysterical negative reviews from America that ripped The Words apart. It’s actually a good film that wants to say something. Though the ending doesn’t present everything on a silver platter, I think the meaning is clear. In that regard, it is good. But don’t expect a romantic movie, The Words is actually a rather thoughtful and artsy, dramatic game. Anyone who’s up for it, can easily find something. Anyone who’s not up for it will get the chance to complain. (14/12/2012)

The Words is a film from the family of naivety for the advanced, as were Penance or Ask the Dust. Every little intellectual is happy because John Fante is quoted in the film. Bradley Cooper's performance made me physically nauseous, and even Jeremy Irons playing it safe didn't save the day. By the time I started tearing my hair out, I was somewhat appeased by the inserted storyline featuring Ben Barnes and Nora Arnezeder in mid-1940s Paris, but neither that nor the mere presence of John Hannah could elevate the resulting shape above the usual mumbo-jumbo (i.e., an ambitious drama with a triple narrative line and an attempt at thought overload). (18/09/2012)

The Words has a great subject with Oscar potential, the possibility of a multi-layered idea and a great acting opportunity for the cast. It’s not that it didn’t succeed, but it didn’t do as well as it deserved to do. The flashbacks, which were meant to let the viewer feel the pain of Jeremy Irons’s character, are done in a kitschy way that weakens the whole foundation of the film. But the “in the present” level works, as we understand the decisions that Bradley Cooper makes in his situation, and he does a fine job of portraying the subsequent feelings of guilt and the effort to make everything right. The superstructure with Dennis Quaid attempts to summarize the ideas in hindsight and even playfully relativize them intellectually, but I found that somewhat unnecessary, at least in terms of its benefit for the story. (08/05/2020)

The cast was great, and I liked the subject matter a lot, but to tell you the truth, I don't know if I liked the film. The style of the narration, the transitions in the interweaving of the time planes, and the way the actors grasped their characters... In short, the whole thing had a slightly sentimental touch of cheesiness, which really disappointed me because otherwise I wouldn't have been so let down by the outcome. (28/05/2020)