Words and Pictures

Jack Marcus is a seemingly washed up writer turned English professor teaching honors students. Not having published anything in years, not only is his job on the line, but his beloved literary magazine at the school which he oversees. Seems that school boards aren't as interested in the students' works as in the teacher's, especially when a published professor writing for the little school magazine is a selling point to wealthy donors. Dina Delsanto is a renowned painter who hasn't shown any new works for years. Riddled with rheumatoid arthritis, she has been unable to create the charcoal sketches and figures for which she is known and has been pushing herself to find a new rhythm, new style so that she can fuel her passion. In the meantime, however, she has taken a professorial position as the Fine Arts teacher the same school with Jack Marcus. And it only takes minutes on their first day of school together for the battle lines to be drawn. Which is more powerful - words or pictures? Delsanto's argument is that pictures and images speak for themselves and need no words. Marcus contends that a picture speaks a thousand words. And so the two embark on what starts as a daily sparring match of word games but turns in to so much more.