I love Reese Witherspoon, and Robert Pattinson has been growing on me since his role in Remember Me. Still, I wasn't exactly giddy about seeing Water for Elephants when a friend wanted to go see it a few weeks ago. Obviously, I wasn't giddy about writing the review either, but make no mistake about it, this flick is one to see.
As the nation struggles economically in the 30's, here's Jacob. (Pattinson) He's not struggling. Actually, he's a Columbia U student nearing graduation in veterinary science. That's when it all falls apart. His parents are in a fatal accident and all is lost. With that in mind, he joins the circus as a staff vet. There, he is introduced to the lovely Marlena (Witherspoon) and the not-so-lovely August (Christoph Walz). They are a hubby-wife team. August owns the circus and Marlena performs. August rules everything, even Marlena, with an iron fist. Actually, 'iron fist' is not a remotely accurate descriptive. He's cruel. Sure, times are tough in the entertainment industry and competing with Ringling Brothers can't be easy, but August treats the people in his charge horribly and the animals even worse. This, of course, leads Marlena to finding solace with Jacob, Hmm...that doesn't sit well with August for some reason. So instead of a "The Show Must Go On" response, August has more of an "It's ON!!!" reaction. Yadayadayada August and Jacob square off with Marlena and a slew of animals on the line.
It's a moving on a lot of different levels and well worth a watch. I'll give it 3.5 Stars. It's a good story that is well told. It leaves you thinking and creates an emotional response. Of course, it's incredibly difficult to endure the scenes of animal abuse, even if those aren't played out graphically. Those scenes are necessary however, along with a few other abusive scenes of the human variety, to truly develop the character of cruelty that is, August. None of that would truly work for me, however, if it didn't leave me with an ultimate 'feel good' moment, which it most definitely does.
Pattinson, Walz and, of course, Witherspoon are all great. Walz definitely has the bad boy role perfected to nearly pure evil proportions. Although his August shows a hint of a conscious as opposed to his Colonel Landa from Inglorious Bastards. Still a strong role played exceptionally well. That's true of his fellow screen leaders as well.
All in all--Water for Elephants is one to check out. If you're looking for pure feel-good entertainment, it may be one to rent on a night when you could use a little emotional roller coaster ride. It will be out on BluRay in November.
True...OUT!
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