Water for Elephants
2011
***
Director: Francis Lawrence
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz, Hal Holbrook, Mark Bovinelli, Scott MacDonald, Jim Norton, Richard Brake
During the Great Depression, a veterinary student suffers a family tragedy and ends up joining a travelling circus. While he works as the trainer of the new star attraction, an elephant named Rosie, he falls in love with the boss' wife. This adaptation of Sara Gruen's novel is an old-fashioned romantic melodrama. Its love triangle is cheesy, corny and predictable, but the film is handsomely mounted and perfectly enjoyable fluff. Christoph Waltz gives another enjoyable performance as the ringmaster, who is a charming gentleman with a very nasty streak, which is pretty much the same role he played in Inglourious Basterds. Robert Pattinson, on the other hand, seems out of his depth. Or maybe it just seems so because there are so many reaction shots of his goofy amazement.
