"A picture is worth a thousand words." Jack Marcus (Owen) is an English teacher that has a slight alcohol problem and is in danger of losing his job. The school hires Dina Delsanto (Binoche) a famous artist that has her own struggles she is dealing with to teach art. What starts off as a harmless comment about words being lies soon becomes a war between words and pictures. The teachers drag their students into the battle which end up helping everyone involved. This is a perfect example of don't judge a book (or in this case movie) by its cover. Going in I was expecting a cheesy romantic comedy that has been done over and over. While this did have the romance aspect this dealt much more with education. Clive Owen plays a teacher that the kids love but the administration hates. He does things his own way and actually gets through to the kids. Binoche's character is angry at having to teach but still makes a connection with the students. The movie is a back and forth argument over which has more power words or pictures with great arguments for both sides. This movie has the type of educational influence that movies along the lines of Dead Poet's Society or Mr. Holland's Opus has. This is a huge surprise of a movie that I just can not say enough about. One of the better movies of the year and I highly recommend this. Overall, if you like inspirational movies about education then check this out. I loved it. I give this an A-.

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.

English teacher Jack Marcus (Clive Owen) is dismayed at his students' lack of passion for words. He's a disheveled drunken former promising literary star. Dina Delsanto (Juliette Binoche) is the new art honors teacher at the rich prep school. She's a well-known artist who is newly suffering from debilitating arthritis. She has moved to the country to be near her sister Sabine. They are both misanthropic and combative from their first encounter. She doesn't trust words. He's in danger of losing his job. The two teachers' constant back and forth turns into a battle of whether words or pictures are more important. There is also gifted shy artistic Emily being courted by class clown Swint.

It's an interesting idea for a rom-com or something serious. It does need to pick one side or the other. The rom-com works for the most part except for some serious turns. Emily and Swint's drama takes a very ugly turn. Valerie Tian and Adam DiMarco are both good but that section feels like the movie takes a 10 minute interlude into another movie. Owen and Binoche elevate the movie by their acting. The problem is that the movie struggles to pick what it wants to be. It would probably be best as an inspirational teacher slash feel good rom-com movie. However it wallows in the characters' problems a bit too long. The movie goes on and on. It's possible to go darker and more serious. The movie simply needs to narrow its focus and pick a side. Also the climatic competition is not climatic at all. It is really boring and flat. It almost brings the movie to a complete standstill.