Good start, but then it gets ruined

Awesome Movie

A different way of telling a story

Blistering performances.

If you are looking for a romance, you might want to skip "Words and Music". The romance portion of the film is very abortive and not at all satisfying if that is what you have in mind. However, if you watch the film simply to watch fine acting, then you'll be very impressed. As for the story, with a slight reworking, it would have been wonderful. As it is, it's decent but no more.The film is set at a fancy prep school in Maine. The story is about two teachers. One is a 'cool' English teacher, Jack (Clive Owen), and the other a brand new teacher--an art teacher named Dina (Juliet Binoche). At first, the audience likes Jack--he seems very clever and funny. And, in contrast, Dina is angry and difficult to like. However, through the course of the film as you learn more about them, your opinion will change. Jack is a drunk--and he's also full of crap. It's actually very difficult to like him or even care about him, handsome as he is. As for Dina, you realize that a lot of her grouchiness is the result of her having to give up her beloved art career, as she's become disabled due to severe rheumatoid arthritis. She is decent down deep and despite her thorny veneer, you tend to like her. The problem, then, with what romance there is in the film is that you know Dina can do so much better and you really DON'T want her with Jack. So how does all this work itself out? See the movie.The best thing about the movie is the acting. Clive Owen is simply amazing. He gets you to hate him--which is great. But he also shows vulnerability and emotion that make his performance riveting. He also manages to somehow outshine Binoche--which is amazing considering she's a fine actress herself.As for the story it's a lot of good and a little bad. I loved some of the other characters and subplots (such as the sexual harassment situation) and the story was so unique. However, on the negative side, the alcoholism aspect is REALLY rushed and Jack goes from a jerk in denial to a guy in touch with his need for AA too quickly. Additionally, the film goes through this aspect to his making peace with Dina way too fast--much more time should have transpired to make the viewer realize his sudden transformation is NOT just some passing fad. Still, on balance, the good far outweighs the bad...even though it is NOT really a romance and should not be seen as one going into the film. If you do expect this, you'll likely be disappointed.

When I saw the plot summary for this film about the eternal battle between the effectiveness of words vs. pictures as the best means of communication, I thought it might be hard to pull off. Kind of like making a movie about a reporter. Their day-to-day work might look repetitious and rather boring to those not in the industry. I was afraid that might be the case for Words and Pictures. But to my surprise, the plot held up for the most part. The disappointment for me came with the personalities of the main characters. Clive Owen and Julietter Binoche are two of my favorite actors, but Completely unlikeable here. The stereotyped drunken, obnoxious over-the-hill teacher/former published author (Owen) and the eternally depressed chronic pain suffering teacher/former famous artist had no redeeming qualities in my opinion. By the last part of the movie when it became obvious the script called for them to be warm, honest human beings, it was just too late. What a shame, because otherwise it could have been a much better film.

Words and Pictures (2013)If you, like me, missed the fact this movie existed at all, despite having two great actors (two of my favorites), then give this a read, and a look. This is a terrific movie. It's funny, bright, and touching. It does veer into a bit of a cliché about high school life and romance, but manages to keep it real, or if not quite "real" at least pungent. Worthy.Yeah, a surprise excellent warm flick. See it.Clive Owen is at first the lead, a crackling spitfire of an English teacher, the kind we all want. Informed, challenging, funny. In this elite high school he fits in well. Except with other teachers who find him abrasive and cocky.Juliette Binoche is the other lead, and she takes on increasing importance teaching art, and being an artist. Her unusual (uncanny) ability to be stern, sad, tormented and also happy to the point of sincere joy and laughter is amazing. She is given less to work with than Owen (Owen's character has a son and the threat of losing his job while Binoche's character just teaches art exceedingly well) but she makes her presence as important and stunning.The two would seem fated to fall in love and such and such, but you'll have to see about that. In fact, they have amazing chemistry as colleagues and then friends on screen, but not romantically. The title refers to a kind of playful battle in the school between word and images. The students get energized, the two teachers take sides. It's fun, but in a way it's all a sideshow to Owen and Binoche in their personal issues and growth and failure. It's hard to make clear that this is a movie about two people who happen to be teachers, and it's about how they come to terms with their different issues: Owen the alcoholic and Binoche suffering with severe arthritis. The writing crackles, the acting is on fire, and the plot goes along for the ride. A joyous surprise.

Review: Man, this film was long and extremely boring. Nothing seemed to happen all the way through the film and I really struggled to keep my eyes open. I can't really say what the film is about because I really lost interest after a while, but I think it's about two teachers who bring there worlds together of words and pictures by holding a competition in a school. Clive Owen, whose from the world of words, is a alcoholic who is fighting to keep is job and Binoche is from the world of pictures who hasn't got faith in her work. Its seemed more like a play than a movie because there's a lot of dialogue which I got bored of. The love story was a bit strange between the two characters and the tone was dull and it just seemed to drag after a while. That's not to say that the two top actors didn't play there parts well but I just didn't relate to there characters. I was extremely impressed with Binoche who was playing a disabled woman who found many different ways to do her paintings but it wasn't enough to save this drawn out movie. Disappointing!Round-Up: I think that the main problem that I found with the film was that I wasn't interested in the subject matter. The challenge between words and pictures is a good concept which could make a good film, but you really need to make the characters interesting. The chemistry between the two main characters was OK but they really came from two different world's which made them hard to connect. On the plus side, it's a different side to Clive Owen's acting style which we haven't seen in a while and he has proved that he take on any project, but this movie really didn't do it for me. Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $3.2millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their dramas about 2 teachers who are trying to bring there world's of words and pictures together, by holding a competition for there students. 3/10