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The Words(2012)
CBS Films Sep 7, 2012 | Wide
A writer at the peak of his literary success discovers the steep price he must pay for stealing another man's work.
Releases
Original Release | Sep 7, 2012
Box Office
Results
$4,750,894
$11,494,838
$4,455,326
$15,950,164
Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: Datasat,Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: United States
Language: English,French
Showtimes
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(U.S. Only)
Summaries
Plot Summary
- Clayton Hammond (Dennis Quaid), a famous author, attends a public reading of his new book, The Words, centered on Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), an aspiring writer who lives in New York City with his girlfriend, Dora (Zoe Saldana). With the help of his father (J. K. Simmons), Rory gets a job as a mail supervisor in a literary agency and attempts to sell his first novel, which is repeatedly rejected by publishers.After living together for some time, Rory and Dora marry and, during their honeymoon in Paris, Dora presents Rory with a gift, an old briefcase from an antiques store. Returning to America, Rory finds an old but masterfully written manuscript in the briefcase with a central character named Jack. Rory types the manuscript into his laptop. Later, while using the laptop, Dora happens upon the novel and reads it. Assuming her husband wrote it, Dora encourages him to meet with a publisher, Joseph Cutler (eljko Ivanek), who offers Rory a contract after reading the manuscript, which Rory accepts. The book is a hit and Rory becomes famous.At this point, Hammond takes a break from the reading and goes backstage, where he is introduced by his agent (John Hannah) to Daniella (Olivia Wilde), a student and amateur writer who wants to interview him and notes that he is separated from his wife, although he still wears a wedding ring. Hammond agrees to meet her after the ceremony and returns to the stage, where he continues to read the book.The second part of the reading details Rorys encounter with an unnamed old man (Jeremy Irons) in New York City's Central Park, who reveals himself as the true author of the manuscript and that it was based on his life in Paris. Irons's character explains that he was a young man (played by Ben Barnes) when first stationed in France by the US Army in the final days of World War II where he fell in love with Celia (Nora Arnezeder), a French waitress. They eventually married and had a daughter, but the baby died shortly after birth. Unable to cope with the loss, Celia left him and moved to her parents' house. He then used his pain as inspiration to write the manuscript, which he took to Celia while visiting her at her parents home. She found the story so moving that she chose to return to him. However, she unintentionally left the manuscript in a briefcase on the train after her trip back to Paris, thereby losing it. The scene shifts to the present and the old man explains that he and Celia tried to repair their marriage but they eventually divorced. Irons's character leaves Rory sitting alone on a park bench.The public reading ends and Hammond tells his fans they must buy the book to learn how it ends. Daniella then accompanies Hammond back to his apartment where she pressures him into telling her more. Hammond explains that Rory tells the truth about the creation of the story, first to his wife and then to Cutler, his publisher. Also, Rory tells Cutler he wants to credit the old man as the true author. Cutler angrily advises against this as it would severely damage both their reputations and recommends giving the old man a share of the book's profits instead.Rory then seeks out the old man to pay him and finds him working in a plant nursery. Irons's character refuses the money but, after doing so, reveals that while once riding a train to work, years after his divorce, he spotted Celia with a new husband and a baby girl at a train station. The old man points out that people always move on from their mistakes as Rory will too.Daniella continues to pressure Hammond for more details. He reveals that the old man dies not long after Rorys second meeting with him along with the secret about who the manuscript's author really is. However, Rory cant move on emotionally and is tormented by nightmares until he focuses his grief on another book, one that allows him to tell the true story of the manuscript.Impressed with this, Daniella passionately kisses Hammond on the mouth but he pulls away, apparently unsure about whether to become romantically involved with another woman. However, in that moment, he remembers Rory lying in Dora's arms as she tells him everything will be alright, suggesting The Words is an autobiographic book with Rory as Hammond's surrogate.
Storyline
- Layered romantic drama The Words follows young writer Rory Jansen who finally achieves long sought after literary success after publishing the next great American novel. There's only one catch - he didn't write it. As the past comes back to haunt him and his literary star continues to rise, Jansen is forced to confront the steep price that must be paid for stealing another man's work, and for placing ambition and success above life's most fundamental three words. — Anonymous In New York, aspiring writer Rory Jansen has written a novel but the editors do not accept to publish it since the story is non-commercial. Rory lives with his girlfriend Dora in a loft and is financially supported by his father Mr. Jansen. When Mr. Jansen tells Rory that he will give no more money for him and that Rory should have a conventional job, he works as a clerk in a publishing house and soon he marries Dora. They travel on honeymoon to Paris and he buys an old briefcase in a jumble sale. When they return to New York, Rory finds the manuscript of a novel hidden in the briefcase and he becomes fascinated with the story and decides to send it to the editors. Soon the book becomes a best-seller and Rory becomes a successful and famous writer. One day, an old man meets him in Central Park and asks for an autograph in his book. When Rory is leaving the place, the old man asks him if he wouldn't like to listen to a story of a man that was robbed by a young man. Rory sits on the bench again and the old man tells a dramatic story of pain and loss to him. — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Three linked stories about writers are presented. The first writer is middle aged Clayton Hammond, who, at a reading of excerpts from his latest book titled "The Words", is picked up by a young grad student named Daniella. In succumbing to her advances, he has to figure out if her motives in pursuing him are about him or something about the subject matter of his book. The second writer is Rory Jansen, the subject of Clay's book. After years of struggling as a writer, Rory garnered acclaim and success as a writer upon the publication of his first book, "The Window Tears". That success allowed Rory to publish subsequent books written before he submitted "The Window Tears", those subsequent books which are deemed not as good as too esoteric and internal. The issue is that Rory's success is based on a lie, which neither his publisher or his adoring wife, Dora, know: he did not write "The Window Tears", it a manuscript he found in a secret compartment in a old briefcase Dora bought for him in a Paris second-hand store. Rory was able to rationalize to himself the reason for taking the work as his own. The third writer is the actual writer of the manuscript that Rory stole. That man was an American soldier stationed in Paris during WWII. It was one of his platoon-mates who got him hooked on literature. But it was a personal tragedy in his life with his French wife, Celia, and their daughter in post-WWII Paris that led to the emotions that allowed him to write the story, which was and is so personal to him because of it. — Huggo Stuck in a creative rut far too long, the talented, yet struggling young author, Rory Jansen, sees his life take an unexpected turn when he stumbles upon a remarkable and long-forgotten manuscript concealed inside a leather portfolio. Battling with an annoying conscience, Rory will eventually yield to temptation--and in one of those spur-of-the-moment decisions--he will pass this masterful piece of writing as his own, catapulting himself right into the spotlight of the cut-throat literary scene. But, little by little, as the plagiarised work keeps burning inside his haunted heart, Rory will need to answer a single question: will he ever be as good as the masterpiece's unsung writer? — Nick Riganas 1 more All