The Words

A would-be novelist (Bradley Cooper) finds a typescript in an old used briefcase and realizes it’s far better than anything he could ever write. Before he can stop himself, he passes the work off as his own and becomes a bestselling sensation—then the real author (Jeremy Irons) turns up. In a framing device, a famous novelist (Dennis Quaid) reads the tale of the young plagiarist aloud as his latest work, quickening the pulse of a young student (Olivia Wilde). Writer-directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal’s movie is one that stays with you, a more complicated “The Lady or the Tiger?” with stories-within-stories that provoke thoughtful questions and rumination. One of the meatiest movies of the year; beautifully written and well acted. Irons is a trifle miscast, but who cares? It’s Jeremy Irons.