daniel cohen reviews the new R. Patt/Reese Witherspoon drama …
Plot: After Jacob (Robert Pattinson) loses his parents in a car accident, he joins the Benzini Brothers traveling circus as their veterinarian. Taking place during the Great Depression era, Jacob learns the inner workings of the circus and develops a relationship with the show’s star attraction Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), who’s also wife to the circus’ temperamental owner (Christoph Waltz).
I didn’t know the circus was such a rough beat. It’s like they have their own laws on that big ass train. Poor Jacob is thrust into the world of circus life, but due to his almost superhero like veterinary skills, he becomes greatly respected among the circus folk when he basically becomes the ‘Elephant Whisperer.’ Now all this may sound interesting, and there’s a lot to like in Water For Elephants, but it’s nothing special and drags quite a bit.
The opening does a good job of piquing your interest. We see Jacob as a spunky humorous old man played wonderfully by Hal Holbrook. He rips into this kid wearing nose and ear rings which was pretty funny. But he’s very likable right off the bat, so when he goes into his story, we’re ready to go with him.
The film really focuses on only three characters. Christoph Waltz absolutely steals the show as the circus owner August. You really like him at the start, but as you learn more about August, it questions your opinion of him. One of the more memorable moments is his mistreatment of one of the animals. Later he seems remorseful, or at least you want to believe he is because Waltz’ performance is so charismatic. He’s funny at times, but also scary, and Waltz nails it. Reese Witherspoon … what is there to say? It’s impossible not to like Reese Witherspoon. She spends a lot of screen time with Waltz and Robert Pattinson.
Pattinson is fine as Jacob, although I think another actor could have done more with it. He goes through most of the film with these goofy smiles and smirks. He never gradually shifts emotions. He’ll be unbelievably despondent and then go ear to ear happy as a clam in the span of five seconds. He does have one great scene when he meets August for the first time and basically lays out why he deserves to be with this circus. It’s the one time he really had command of the character. He’s got okay chemistry with Witherspoon, although the development of their romantic relationship is pretty generic. A dance here, a stolen kiss there, you know the drill.
In fact the real weakness of the movie is the romantic development between Jacob and Marlena. It excruciatingly slows down the film. It’s not that you don’t buy a potential romance here, but it’s not only done in a cliché way, it’s that the cliché stuff moves at a snail’s pace. The real heart of the movie is Jacob’s interaction between the animals and the rest of the circus folk.
The film meanders along with some powerful moments sprinkled in here and there, although I must say, the end was pretty intense. I liked the conclusion, but aspects of it were a little ridiculous and kind of silly.
Despite a slow pace, and some really corny dialogue that includes ‘I don’t know if I picked that train or that train picked me,’ the film offers likable characters and good camaraderie among most of the circus folk that you’ll latch onto. If it was 90 minutes instead of two hours, it could have been really good, but it’s okay.
Rating: 6 out of 10 (‘meh’)
