Like many animal centred films before it - Andre, Flipper - Water For Elephants suffers from the beast upstaging the actors. I love IMDB's profile page for Tai who plays Rosie in this film, simply 'Trivia: is an elephant.' But she is more than just an elephant, Tai is probably one of the finest actors in this movie, she is an engaging presence on screen and you find yourself wishing there were more elephant-centric scenes. This is also due to the lacklustre feel to the rest of the movie, Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon are clearly more taken with Rosie than they are with each other.
To explain: Water For Elephants is based on the best selling novel by Sara Gruen, concerning a veterinary student of Polish descent who abandons his degree after a family tragedy, only to come across a travelling circus and join them as resident vet and later bull-man to Rosie the elephant. Mixed into this story is the erratic and dangerous Ring Master August and his beautiful performer wife Marlena, whom Jacob the vet falls for.
It is set in the early 1930's, yet the film begins in the present day at a modern circus where an aged Jacob waiting for his son to arrive tells his story to a worker, who wants to know about the great disaster of 1931 when the Benzini Brothers circus was destroyed.
The film follows through the plot with suitable period grace and charm, the nastier side of circus life coming to the fore in appropriate places teaching Jacob that running away with the circus is not a fairytale. He is obviously a kind hearted soul, and his skills as a vet place him well within the circus elite. However he has to contend with the vicious August, who is played with much gusto by Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), to whom animals are things for making money from and to be dominated not cared for or respected. Apart from Rosie Waltz is perhaps the most engaging character on screen, his mood swings would create whiplash for those around him and yet he has a beautiful wife who seems to love him.
Of course this is not a film purely about elephants or the trials of running away with the circus, with the screenplay by Richard LaGravenese (Bridges of Madison County, PS I Love You) there is no doubt going to be a heart breaking love triangle...or maybe not. As stated before the film for the most part is lacklustre, Witherspoon and Pattinson have zero chemistry, a lot of me wants to say perhaps it is an age thing, that a younger woman should have been cast as Witherspoon presents too much of a grounded character to even think about running off with the vet. However age was certainly not an issue between Jennifer Aniston and Jake Gyllenhaal in The Good Girl, who have a greater age difference than Pattinson and Witherspoon. Maybe then it is what the the film is trying to present, we have no idea how old Marlena is, just that she was seventeen when she met August and married him to escape her life of poverty and care homes. Perhaps then the lack of chemistry is because the actors have not been able to define a more specific relationship, is it wrong for this young man in his early twenties to be after an older woman, or is she supposed to be of similar age, and yet clearly not?
There may just be an utter lack of chemistry between the two, which is a shame because had they had any kind of sexual tension I'm sure the screen would have lit up and the critics raved. As it is the love triangle plods through, with Jacob loving from afar, Marlena denying her feelings and August watching like a demented hawk. Pattinson does well, he is not an incredible actor by any feat of imagination but he isn't awful to watch, his interaction with Rosie is natural and the relationship mutually beneficial. Witherspoon, she has made some bad choices over the years (Four Christmases, How Do You Know) but is never horrific as an actress, this role has let her down somewhat, but also it feels as though she is going through the motions, her true potential was realised in Rendition and Walk The Line. But again she is clearly taken with Rosie, and the final snapshots of her life are more easy and natural than most of her screen time.
The ending feels a little rushed, I have not read the novel but it seems from the synopsis that it takes longer than the film does to end, and though the film was quite slow in pace I feel a little extra build up would have benefited the final scenes. What makes a difference between this film and the scriptwriters previous is that there is a relatively happy ending, however like a lot of American literature and film making you wish for someone to have the guts to create a little tragedy.
What made this film worth watching was Tai the elephant, she is magnificent and certainly steals the show from the Oscar winners and tweenage Idols. The story is not unlikeable but the lead romantic performances let it down so badly you just don't believe in them or their passion. A very disappointing film.
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