Movie Review: The Words

    Hey, everyone. We went to see a new movie today, called The Words. I found it to be excellent and would rate it as 4.5 stars out of 5. Carley rates it as 5 stars out of 5. Here's the recipe.
    Bradley Cooper stars as Rory Jansen, a young man who dreams of being an author. He writes a novel and it is a good one. Of course, all he receives is rejection slips. Years pass. He gets a regular job, to pay his bills, and goes on with his life.
    When he gets married to Dora (played by Zoe Saldana), they honeymoon in Paris. In an old curio store, Dora finds a very old briefcase and buys it for Rory. When Rory is transferring his papers into this case, he finds a yellowed old manuscript. He starts reading it and is spellbound; it is that good. It is the story of a young soldier who falls in love with a French girl, during World War 2.
    Rory publishes the novel as his own work. In his defense, I must say that he didn't know whose work it was, or even if the author was alive. He is an overnight success and the new 'rock star' of the literary world. He receives awards, the respect of the masses and all the wealth he needs. Things are rosy until an old man, played by Jeremy Irons, strikes up a conversation with him on a park bench. The old man reveals that the book was his, the true story of his younger life, and that the briefcase was left on a train by the woman he loved.
     My first thought was that the oldster was going to expose Rory, or blackmail him or even kill him in a fit of jealous rage. No, the old timer just wanted him to hear the full story. Well, Rory is tormented by the whole scenario and intends to expose himself. (No, not like that).
    What happens next is open to a little bit of conjecture. You say, how can that be? Well, I can't tell you the rest. Suffice it to say that Carley and I talked about it all the way home and still are not sure what the real deal was. I'll leave it at that, rather than play the spoiler. I asked a couple what the meaning of the story was, as we walked out, and the lady replied cryptically, "It means what you think it means."  ????????
    During this movie, which was sparsely attended, there was not a single sound from the audience. When the end came, people just sat and watched the credits. There were no explosions in the film, nor shooting, nor nudity that I remember. It was just a good, well-written, well-acted show and I recommend it. By the way, Dennis Quaid has a central role in the last half of the show as an author named Clay Hammond. His romantic interest is played by Olivia Wilde.
    From the author's green retreat, this is CE Wills.