Words and Pictures (2013)

An art instructor and an English teacher form a rivalry that ends up with a competition at their school in which students decide whether words or pictures are more important.

Director:

Fred Schepisi

Writer:

Gerald Di Pego (as Gerald DiPego)

Stars:

Clive Owen, Juliette Binoche, Bruce Davison

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clive Owen	...	Jack Marcus
Juliette Binoche	...	Dina Delsanto
Bruce Davison	...	Walt
Navid Negahban	...	Rashid
Amy Brenneman	...	Elspeth
Valerie Tian	...	Emily
Adam DiMarco	...	Swint
Josh Ssettuba	...	Cole Patterson
Janet Kidder	...	Sabine
Christian Scheider	...	Tony
Keegan Connor Tracy	...	Ellen
Andrew McIlroy	...	Roy Loden
Harrison MacDonald	...	Shaftner
Willem Jacobson	...	Stanhope
Tanaya Beatty	...	Tammy

Storyline

A flamboyant English teacher (Clive Owen) and a new, stoic art teacher (Juliette Binoche) collide at an upscale prep school. A high-spirited courtship begins and she finds herself enjoying the battle. Another battle they begin has the students trying to prove which is more powerful, the word or the picture. But the true war is against their own demons, as two troubled souls struggle for connection.

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Plot Keywords:

rheumatoid arthritis | teacher | school | battle | words | 

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Taglines:

Is a man worth more than his words, a woman worth more than her pictures?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual material including nude sketches, language and some mature thematic material

Details

Official Sites:

Juliette Binoche: The Art of Being - Official Fansite Official site

Country:

USA Canada Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 July 2014 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Apropó szerelem

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$78,200, 30 May 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,166,206, 15 August 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Latitude Productions,Lascaux Films,American Entertainment Investors

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene in which Jack Marcus destroys his living room, the music in the background is David Bowie's "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" from his album The Next Day. Clive Owen insisted on using this on the soundtrack rather than the classical music that director Fred Schepisi preferred.

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Quotes

Elspeth: Just be who you were!
Jack Marcus: Nobody can.

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Soundtracks

Doubly
Written & Performed by Paul Grabowsky

User Reviews

absorbing and delightful

Searching, in all aspects of their lives, for those with "fire in the belly" and expressions and lives that are meaningful, Dina (Juliette Binoche) and Jack (Clive Owen) do not suffer fools gladly. Dina, also known as the "Icicle," is the new art teacher rumored to have caned a student in New York. She is struggling, physically and mentally, to overcome a disability as well as the loss of a spouse. Jack, irascible and usually drunk, is an English teacher with his job, family and life on the line due to his drinking and drought in the publishing department. The two loose cannons, headstrong and determined in their ways, are entwined in a jovial workplace argument over the primacy of words and pictures. Both Dina and Jack struggle to reawaken desire and hope in themselves as well as their students. They have each other to look to, for better and worse. Binoche and Owen are, of course, wonderful and charming in their roles. Their romance has chemistry. It is a worthwhile film just to see how Binoche transitions from Paris to rural Maine (and she does so deftly and with panache). Weighed down a bit by awkward student actor performances, the words and pictures battle is never the less intriguing, and the film as a whole is absorbing and delightful. Seen at the 2014 Miami International Film Festival.