Review of Water for Elephants (2011) by The D — 13 Mar 2014

(6/10).

Water for Elephants is a romantic period drama based on the novel with the same name. The story follows a young man played by Robert Pattinson who is going to school to be a veterinarian when a series of a events throw him into the circus life. While there, he meets and falls in love with a beautiful circus performer played by Reece Witherspoon. They also develop a strong bond with a circus elephant throughout the movie. The only thing standing in the way of their love (not the elephant's love, but the girl) is that Reece Witherspoon happens to be married to Cristolph Waltz, who plays the evil, cruel and dangerous circus owner. Will Robert Pattinson overcome all obstacles and make their love work? This is the plot of the movie in a nutshell.

Romantic dramas usually either thrive or die depending on how the leads work together and the chemistry between them. This one is a minor exception because although a lot of the movie rests on this, there are enough other things here to make the movie passable. The fatal flaw of this film are the leads: They have little to no chemistry at all. Robert Pattinson is boring as all hell and continues to prove that he isn't a good actor. Reece Witherspoon is fine in the movie, but her and Edward Cullen have a distinct lack of chemistry that almost kills the movie completely.

There are some good things about this film. The main one being Cristoph Waltz, who continues to impress me as an actor. He plays the evil circus tyrant with great menace and unpredictability and his character adds a lot of energy to the film. He is far and away the best part Water for Elephants and the movie would fail without him. The second major thing the movie has going for it is the cinematography. This film is shot so beautifully and it looks absolutely stunning from a visual standpoint. I actually think the cinematography is worthy of Oscar nominations. The third thing the movie has going for it is the way the story is told. I haven't read the novel so I don't know how it's told in the book, but I was surprised that the film was all told through flashbacks. The story is basically told through Robert Pattinson's character when he is an old man in the present time and he is telling a story to a young woman about his life in the circus and how he met the love of his life. I didn't go into the movie expecting that and I appreciated that the film wasn't completely linear.

These 3 things are enough to give the movie a recommendation, even though the romantic leads have no chemistry together and the film is a bit too slow and predictable. Overall, I recommend the film (BARELY).