Film Review: Water for Elephants

Forget R Patz, the star of this show is Rosie the loveable elephant, who not only creates most of the drama in the film, but is the only character (?) big, brave and tough enough to take on and win against the movie’s baddie, circus owner and ringmaster August, leaving the protagonists, Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, to dance off into the sunlight together for a happy ending. 

For the rest of the film, it really is your typical romantic drama with all the usual stereotypes of the genre that negatively portray the 1930s travelling circus. The first is evident even in the opening of the film, when an old man, supposedly Patterson, goes back in time to tell the story of his life to a random stranger. Sound familiar?

Then there are the characters, there’s the bad guy, August, played by Christoph Waltz, who gives a truly believable performance as an arrogant, greedy and violent man, beating his wife and anyone who undermines him, including the animals. The good guy, or girl, in this case is his wife, Marlena (Witherspoon), who is in contrast angelic, has a special relationship with the circus’ zoo, and puts up with her husband’s beatings for stardom and the chance to belong, after being abandoned as a baby. Then there is the have a go hero, Jacob (Patterson), who by chance climbs aboard the Benzini Brothers travelling circus, train, lands himself a job as a vet then bull trainer looking after Rosie, and becomes best friends with the boss, only to betray him and steal his wife from under his nose. He (Jacob) might have studied at a prestigious college, but clearly they didn’t teach him common sense. Despite this, his actions win him the approval of the circus company, who actually forgive him for getting many of the circus’ company killed for having anything to do with him.

My thoughts? If you liked The Notebook or Moulin Rouge then you’ll love Water for Elephants, which provides perfect viewing for a Sunday afternoon as not a lot of thought is required. R Patz fans may also be disappointed for the lack of topless shots, bearing in mind the film is only a 12A. If it wasn’t for Rosie the elephant or Christoph Waltz’s portrayal of August I would say to leave this 1930s based movie in the past.