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Water for Elephants
Apr. 23rd, 2011 06:11 pmI went to see Water for Elephants at the movies today. I'm in the middle of reading the book but even though i've not finished, i decided to go see the movie. It's a romance that takes place in a circus in 1931 but it's a romance with the animals as much as with the humans in a way. The Benzini Brothers circus is lurching along from town to town, barely making a go of it. It's the Depression and there isn't a lot of money for circus tickets with so many people out of work.
Jacob Jankowski is almost finished Veterinary school but during his final exam, he's told that his parents, Polish immigrants, have both died in a car accident and because they had mortaged everything to pay for Jacob's tuition, he is left with nothing. He leaves town with nowhere to go and impulsively hops a moving train at night, having no idea where it's going. It turns out it's a circus train and Jacob manages not to get thrown back off because of his skill with the animals. The owner and boss of the circus is August and he's got a lovely young wife, Marlena. It veers off from the book here in that in the book August is not the boss of the circus but it still works well and I found the movie followed the book fairly well. Jacob, as you might expect, is entranced by the blonde Marlena but keeps a respectful distance even though he's thrown together with her and August quite a bit. The Circus arrives at a town where another circus has gone bust and August manages to acquire an elephant, hoping it will turn their fortunes.
Jacob helps train the elephant, Rosie, once they accidentally discover the secret that cracks the training code. There is occasional animal abuse but almost all of it us not shown on screen, just implied and the little that is is very likely faked but it's probably pretty accurate to how things were then. Jacob, of course, objects but he doesn't always try to stop it either. We can see that Jacob is falling in love with Marlena who sometimes seems to be unhappy with August who is a cold and controlling man. The story is actually being told from the present day by an old man, the aged Jacob who is living in a nursing home. He's come to the grounds where a circus is just breaking down to leave and seems to be a bit lost. The young man that seems to be the owner sits him in the office trailer with a drink and he's telling this story. The older man is played by Hal Holbrook, always good even if the part is small.
Marlena is played by Reese Witherspoon who seems a bit old for the part which, in the book, is meant to be a woman in her early 20s. I do like her though so i'm willing to forgive this one even though it still feels a bit uneven when she's playing against Robert Pattinson who plays young Jacob although Reese is only 10 years older than him, less than i thought but she's been around for awhile so it feels like more, I guess. He does an ok job but I have to say anything I've ever seen him in all feels the same. He seems to play everything the same way or else they keep casting him in the same type of role. He reminds me a bit of James Dean too, in looks but not quite so angsty. Neither of them seem to have a wide range of expression, with lots of soulful looks and glowing closeup shots trying to convey their emotional state. Still, Pattinson is the trendy good looker these days and it brings bums onto seats, or so they hope. But you see what i mean when i say Reese looks a bit too old for her on-screen lover? August is played by an Austrian actor, Christoph Waltz and is very good as the cruel and jealous August. I'd almost say he steals the show if it weren't for the trained elephant!
It sticks to the plot of the book fairly well overall (so far, at least) and it ends much as i expected it to. It's a romance, after all. It was a nice escape for a couple of hours and something a little different with the circus environment. If you're a big fan of Pattinson you won't likely be disappointed.
The title has to do with it being a "joke" type thing. If you were offered a job carrying water for elephants, you'd be carrying a hell of a lot of water as they drink a huge amount.
Jacob Jankowski is almost finished Veterinary school but during his final exam, he's told that his parents, Polish immigrants, have both died in a car accident and because they had mortaged everything to pay for Jacob's tuition, he is left with nothing. He leaves town with nowhere to go and impulsively hops a moving train at night, having no idea where it's going. It turns out it's a circus train and Jacob manages not to get thrown back off because of his skill with the animals. The owner and boss of the circus is August and he's got a lovely young wife, Marlena. It veers off from the book here in that in the book August is not the boss of the circus but it still works well and I found the movie followed the book fairly well. Jacob, as you might expect, is entranced by the blonde Marlena but keeps a respectful distance even though he's thrown together with her and August quite a bit. The Circus arrives at a town where another circus has gone bust and August manages to acquire an elephant, hoping it will turn their fortunes.
Jacob helps train the elephant, Rosie, once they accidentally discover the secret that cracks the training code. There is occasional animal abuse but almost all of it us not shown on screen, just implied and the little that is is very likely faked but it's probably pretty accurate to how things were then. Jacob, of course, objects but he doesn't always try to stop it either. We can see that Jacob is falling in love with Marlena who sometimes seems to be unhappy with August who is a cold and controlling man. The story is actually being told from the present day by an old man, the aged Jacob who is living in a nursing home. He's come to the grounds where a circus is just breaking down to leave and seems to be a bit lost. The young man that seems to be the owner sits him in the office trailer with a drink and he's telling this story. The older man is played by Hal Holbrook, always good even if the part is small.
Marlena is played by Reese Witherspoon who seems a bit old for the part which, in the book, is meant to be a woman in her early 20s. I do like her though so i'm willing to forgive this one even though it still feels a bit uneven when she's playing against Robert Pattinson who plays young Jacob although Reese is only 10 years older than him, less than i thought but she's been around for awhile so it feels like more, I guess. He does an ok job but I have to say anything I've ever seen him in all feels the same. He seems to play everything the same way or else they keep casting him in the same type of role. He reminds me a bit of James Dean too, in looks but not quite so angsty. Neither of them seem to have a wide range of expression, with lots of soulful looks and glowing closeup shots trying to convey their emotional state. Still, Pattinson is the trendy good looker these days and it brings bums onto seats, or so they hope. But you see what i mean when i say Reese looks a bit too old for her on-screen lover? August is played by an Austrian actor, Christoph Waltz and is very good as the cruel and jealous August. I'd almost say he steals the show if it weren't for the trained elephant!
It sticks to the plot of the book fairly well overall (so far, at least) and it ends much as i expected it to. It's a romance, after all. It was a nice escape for a couple of hours and something a little different with the circus environment. If you're a big fan of Pattinson you won't likely be disappointed.
The title has to do with it being a "joke" type thing. If you were offered a job carrying water for elephants, you'd be carrying a hell of a lot of water as they drink a huge amount.
