The Words

"There's more than one way to take a life."

A story, within a story, within a story. Bradley Cooper played a well devoted husband, respectful son, and writer in this film about common mistakes, love, and definite pain. While the story between Bradley Cooper and the old man is being told from the point of Dennis Quaid - a popular author reading aloud his new book.

The story - now as a writer I understand all too well that the story Rory Jansen publishes is something most personal to the Old Man. So personal it touched his heart, and kept it from tearing into pieces. To have it lost, and recovered years later, only to be made public under the name of some kid who had never felt the true sorrow written within those words... had to be hard for him to watch. The book was a brilliant hit - a memoir of the Old Man, his wife, and the child they had lost.

What could he do? Nothing - but let that story become Rory's, hoping that somehow that pain would become his. Which it did, Rory was then faced with what was right, and what was wrong - and how he could go on after making such a mistake.

Reality and fiction do run very close together, and no, they never touch. We can live within our mind - full of fantasies and happy memories while we forget that our wife has left us or our life is in ruin. We can hold onto people even when they aren't there and we can pine away love for those whom we have never met. Fantasy to us is some weird form of hope or longing that our life will be different from what it is.

I did feel like the film had a lot more potential for drama, or story completion. As the story ends just fine, it's almost unsatisfying in a way because you become so involved with all three main male characters. And the ending to each man's story is merely an echo to what could've occurred. In simplicity - it was a good film.

Year: 2012
Rating: PG-13
Actors: Bradley Cooper, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Zoey Saldana, Jeremy Irons
My R: Rental