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May 23, 2014

At the Movies: 'Words' is a witty adult rom-com

By DEBORAH YOUNG
The Hollywood Reporter

LOS ANGELES — If it wasn't for the charming top-liners who can make literary dialogue sound sexy in their sleep, the war in Fred Schepisi's “Words and Pictures” would have to be called off after the opening skirmish. The battlefield is a country prep school where Clive Owen's drunken English teacher and Juliette Binoche's prickly art instructor square off, then pair off, in an amusing school-wide debate over whether literature or painting is best. The way the challenge between these two sharp minds will play out is the only thing that isn't a foregone conclusion in the smooth-as-vodka screenplay, a middle-brow mashing together of “Dead Poets Society” and a rom-com for audiences allergic to vulgarity and sex scenes.

WORDS AND PICTURES
Director: Fred Schepisi

Cast: Clive Owen, Juliette Binoche

Rating: PG-13

Running time: 111 minutes


 
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