Water for Elephants
It’s a tough job to steal the spotlight from Robert Pattinson (in a noticeably tanner role than his “Twilight” paleness), not to mention Academy Award winning beauty, Reese Witherspoon, but there’s nothing like an elephant in the room to help stir things up. “Water For Elephants,” based on Sara Gruen’s bestselling novel, follows the life of Jacob Janowski (Pattinson) after his parents are involved in a fatal car accident and he leaves his life as a would-be veterinarian and Ivy League graduate behind. Jacob literally catapults himself into a new world aboard the traveling train of The Benzini Brothers Circus where he meets and falls in love with the dazzling Marlena (Witherspoon), the star performer of her controlling, but charismatic husband, August’s (Christoph Waltz) Big Top show.
The 1930’s marks an era of furtive passion, depicting people struggling through an economic depression by any means necessary, a period of prohibition, and a blurry line between reality and illusion. It’s a backdrop of ladies in dresses and fancy hats and men donning three-piece suits. It’s a time when love feels more romantic and fated than the love stories often provided in today’s instant gratification world. Maybe that’s the reason why the pace is so painfully slow throughout the first half of the movie.
Witherspoon’s usual sparkle seems dulled in comparison with one of the first major, noteworthy performances from Robert Pattinson (Twilight mania aside). Although Witherspoon is a smooth presence on screen, the part of alluring Marlena may have been a better fit for someone with a little more spunk: Rachel McAdams, perhaps? If that were the case, then Ryan Gosling could have also slid in nicely to depict Jacob in this role that’s equal parts vulnerability and bravery. It may have provided a passionate reunion to give onscreen chemistry that is lacking for this epic love story.
Tai the Elephant makes the biggest impact in the movie as Rosie. A character with no lines outshining the cast surrounding her is quite the feat. Rosie is what the basis of both the book and the movie lives on. Without her, the story loses its heart. Her pachyderm presence is both mesmerizing and graceful and it may be said that the audience could fall in love with her just as easily if not more so than Jacob.
“Water for Elephants” plays on the idea of illusion. The narrative is from a 90-something year-old Jacob in present day as remembered and told to a modern day circus manager. The story is a fantastical circus tale of love and taking risks, but the outrageous, behind the scenes snippets the book provides are noticeably missing in the movie. What does remain as a lasting impression is wondering if, after so long, anyone could truly remember where the illusion of memories end and the reality of the tales we live begin.