USA / 2013 / 116 min / DCP / colour / Romantic comedy

Director : Fred Schepisi

Script : Gerald Di Pego
Cinematography : Ian Baker
Editing : Peter Honess
Music : Paul Grabowsky
Production : Curtis Burch, Fred Schepisi, Gerald Di Pego
Cast : Clive Owen, Juliette Binoche, Keegan Connor-Tracy

Closing film

Jack Marcus is a one-time literary star who has not published in years, and has been reduced to teaching prep-school English to students more engrossed in social media than in the refinements of language. Estranged from his son, adrift in his job and contemptuous of his young charges, Jack seeks solace in the bottle, and his drunken behaviour has already resulted in his being banned from an upscale local pub. But things change when he meets the school’s new art teacher, Dina Delsanto, who was formerly a celebrated abstract painter until severe arthritis derailed her career. With a performance review looming and his job on the line, Jack comes upon an inspired method of galvanizing student interest in their studies: he declares a war between words and pictures, confident that the former can convey greater meaning than the latter. Dina accepts Jack’s challenge and the battles begin. But, before they know it, their hearts have also entered the fray.