Water for Elephants (Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz, Hal Holbrook) – First, there is only one elephant in the movie. Secondly, we don’t see anyone providing water to the elephant (it’s whiskey). Glad that is off my chest! As usual, I almost always like movies that are presented as a flashback. Water for Elephants is based on a wildly successful book by Sara Gruen. Adapted for the screen by Richard LaGravenese, who wrote the screenplay for The Bridges of Madison County and Freedom Writers, the film is a period piece set in 1931. The film opens in modern time at night at a circus where an old man (Hal Holbrook) is standing in the rain, seemingly confused. Invited in by the circus’ manager, he tells his life story. And the real movie begins.
Enter the major protagonist, Jacob (Robert Pattinson, one of the pretty boys of the Twilight trilogy, who proves he can, indeed, act), a veterinary student at Cornell University whose life was forever changed by his parents’ car accident. He ends up jumping on a train that happens to house a traveling circus run by an engaging, inscrutable, violent man named August (Christoph Waltz, the engaging, inscrutable, violent Nazi SS colonel in Inglourious Basterds). August’s circus is on the ropes, as so many businesses were during the Depression. His main attraction is his wife, Mariena (a resplendent Reese Witherspoon), a skilled horsewoman. As we find out more about her back-story, we learn how this kind, beautiful woman could be attracted to her volatile husband. It also telegraphs that she and Jacob will become more than star and veterinarian. Yes, August hires him to become a fulltime vet, attracted as he is by Jacob’s intellect and, perhaps, the need for a surrogate son.
We meet the kind of odd characters you would expect in a traveling circus along with a cacophony of animals, all of whom/which represent a “family” with a dominant leader who demonstrates virtually no true affection or loyalty for those who serve him.
At its core, this is a serious chick flick. This means we are unsure if our hero gets the girl, if the antagonist gets his due, and if the story will resolve the way we want it to. As a period piece, director Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) shows impeccable attention to detail. There are two complete credit pages for the stunt people alone. While there are some computer graphics, the action looks very real, which truly makes the movie compelling. I liked the film and its flashback device. Waltz’s performance is overwhelming … again; Holbrook is perfect as the older Jacob; Witherspoon and Pattinson are a very pretty couple. Thus, the movie is well worth your time, money and (for some of the women in the audience I was in) sighs and tears.