The movie presents its plot as a story within a story within a story. If that sounds “Inception” like, well it is. Christopher Nolan’s convoluted film appears to have been an inspiration for this one. Still this movie is about books within books rather than dreams within dreams. The result is a “what is what” and “who is who” parade of questions.
The movie starts with author Clay Hammond (Dennis Quaid) reading from his book THE WORDS to a large audience. As he reads, the story comes to life and centers on a young aspiring writer named Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper). He lives in New York with his girlfriend Dora (Zoe Saldana) and has been working at selling a manuscript for several years with no success. [EDITED]
At last Rory gives up the dream of being a full time writer and takes a job at a publishing house. He and Dora get married and go to Paris on their honeymoon. In a shop there Rory finds an old briefcase he likes, so Dora buys it for him. When they return to New York, Rory finds a manuscript inside the folds of the briefcase. He reads the story (which comes alive on the screen) and is fascinated by it. He knows it is a much better story and a better written story than anything he has ever done.
This point where Rory reads the story presents the crux of the film.
The look of the film, the intensity of the stories within stories, the musical score, and above all the nuanced acting by Cooper, Quaid and Jeremy Irons make this more than an ordinary film. The issues raised in the story will provoke discussions long after the movie is over. There are many interpretations possible and each can be the right one.


Jackie K Cooper
Copyright Jackie K Cooper