Review of Water for Elephants (2011) by Liam C — 10 Oct 2014

Water for Elephants is a very unique entry in the romance genre that I'm really surprised by. This film was very, very good and I liked it very much, and dare I say, loved it?

The story in this film is very gripping and has you very invested in it's world from very early on. I went along with the story and felt very attached to it, any time that something happened to a character it got a reaction out of me and during some parts, most notably the very heated conclusion, I just wanted to jump into the film and take action. Surprisingly, this story has quite a lot of tension in it, as the film went on I had no idea what would happen next and I was just on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. The film had a very good pace allowing the film to flow naturally, breath and give attention to characters. However, for about the first 10-15 minutes or so, I noticed some cliches but the more and more the film got into the circus story, they disappeared.

The story is already delightfully unique and interesting but it really is the acting that elevates this to what it is. I feel bad for Robert Pattinson, so many are just ready to write him off because of Twilight but in everything I've seen him in, he's been a different character and in this he does a very good job at playing the conflicted lead. His character has development and he and Reese Witherspoon's chemistry seems natural for the scenario they're in; lack of chemistry? Really? Her character couldn't leave her situation so easily like people seem to think she could have, which is a very dark one. Christoph Waltz is the one who steals the show, though, he alone makes the story all the more gripping and compelling just because of how unpredictable and scary he is, you'll never be able to tell what he'll do next and when he does do something dramatic it gets the best kind of emotional reaction out of you to the point where you just wanna punch him. He gets development too and somehow you feel sorry for him even right after he does something horrible about half way through, just because of how he sells it, you don't forgive him but you can tell he's tormented.

The film looks beautiful too, the film really captured the time period very well and looked like a film that was made about 30-40 years ago, everything from the sets to the costumes to the perfect score, it all feels like a product of old Hollywood.

After all was said and done I had a massive smile on my face and I was very happy that I finally got around to watching this and experiencing it. It is a film that is directed brilliantly, acted perfectly and based on a very unique and powerful story. I couldn't find any fault to take me out of the compelling story and I was gripped for the, initially daunting, 2 hour runtime. It is an excellent film. I should probably check out the book...