Water for Elephants

Even though I have never read Sara Gruen's acclaimed novel, I can tell that this film adaptation is lacking something the book most likely contained - A deep insight into the characters and their actions. Though handsomely mounted, and not really a bad movie, Water for Elephants constantly feels like its skimming the surface, like we're only getting part of the story. The movie feels bare bones in almost every way emotionally, especially the central love triangle that is supposed to drive this old fashioned romantic melodrama.

As the film opens, a wizened old man named Jacob Jankowski (Hal Holbrook) is visiting a circus, and shares the story of his youth, and how he ended up working for the famous Benzini Brothers Circus in the early days of the Great Depression. Flashback to 1931, where we find the much younger Jacob (Robert Pattinson) about to graduate from Cornell University with a degree in veterinary science, when his parents are suddenly killed in a car accident, leaving him homeless and broke. He wanders the streets for a while, until he hops aboard a train that he hopes will take him somewhere where he can find work. The train turns out to be a circus train, and its iron-fisted owner, August (Christoph Waltz), briefly considers tossing Jacob off, until he finds out he can use Jacob's veterinary skills to care for his animals. Of main interest to August is the new elephant that he recently purchased to be a star attraction in his show. The elephant is to be the centerpiece of a new act for August's wife, the lovely Marlena (Reese Witherspoon).

The scenes depicting life in the circus during the Depression are quite fascinating, as director Francis Lawrence (I am Legend) and screenwriter Richard LaGranvanese (P.S. I Love You) show us what life was like for those who worked behind the scenes, as well as show an honest flair for how circuses were run during its time period. But it's the romance that grows between Jacob and Marlena as they work together that gets most of the screentime. After August's attempts to train the new elephant with cruel and brute force fails, Jacob and Marlena work out a more humane system to train the beast for Marlena's act. As they spend more time together, they begin to fall for each other, which is eventually noticed by the jealous and violent August. It's a plot concept that's almost as old as the movies themselves, but it can still work, and Water for Elephants does have a certain old fashioned charm that almost drew me in.

But we have to face the fact that there is no real chemistry between Pattinson and Witherspoon. Whenever their passions are supposed to be burning, especially during a brief PG-13 sex scene late in the film, it ends up feeling more tepid than it should. This is not entirely the fault of the actors', as LaGranvanese's screenplay makes us feel like we're watching these characters from the sidelines. Although Jacob and Marlena are likable enough, there's just not a lot to them, or to their relationship. When they start taking dangerous risks in order to be together, it feels more like manipulations of the plot, rather than a general desire to be together. I can only assume that Gruen's novel went deeper into their love, and those familiar with the book will understand their feelings more than I did. It's actually the antagonist August who ends up being the most interesting, as Waltz gives a complex performance, at least until the third act, which requires him to resort to almost cartoonish villainy.

Even if the love story at the center of Water for Elephants left me wanting more, I was quite entertained by some of the other elements. This is a beautiful looking movie, with some memorable shots, including one of Jacob and August sitting on top of one of the train cars under a night sky as it makes its way down the track. And even if Pattinson and Witherspoon can't create any real chemistry together, they are fine enough on their own. I also admired the attention to detail to the sets. Everything feels authentic, and the train cars where most of the film's action take place each have their own unique look and style, creating a sort of social order for those who work for the circus. This is a well-executed film that is lacking a certain something in its central spark that's supposed to push it over the top.

I certainly do not regret seeing the movie, and I wish I liked it even more than I did. As it stands, I wish it had dug more into the characters and their relationships. This is an adaptation where something just feels a tiny bit off, even if you're not familiar with the source material. I don't think fans of the book will have a lot to complain about. Those who aren't familiar won't have much to complain about either, unless they're looking for a richly passionate romance.

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