Rosie, the riveting elephant, responds to commands in Polish and drinks at least as much whiskey as water, but "Water for Elephants," probably is a more acceptable title for a film that had some good ideas and is technically magnificent but which is startlingly passionless. Reese Witherspoon (Marlena), as platinum blonde as Jean Harlow, is cold enough to shed ice crystals as she walks, and Robert Pattinson (Jacob), is so skinny and pale he might have just climbed out of his coffin.
The new circus movie, set during the Great Depression, is beautiful and often exciting. Director Francis Lawrence works from a Richard LaGravenese screenplay, adapted from Sara Gruen's five-year-old novel. Crowd scenes are wonderful, a stampede of circus animals is scary, action on the circus train is splendid. Many kudos to cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, editor Alan Edward Bell and production designer Jack Fisk.
Christoph Waltz, who won an Oscar for his work in "Inglorious Basterds," is vicious and demanding as August, who owns the circus and thinks he owns Marlena, his wife and his star act on a white horse.
Hal Holbrook, still a little in Mark Twain mode, portrays an old Jacob ("I'm either 90 or 93," he says) and introduces the young Jacob, about to take his final exams at the Cornell University Veterinary School. A little while ago (maybe before breakfast), his parents were killed in an auto accident. He never takes the exam. The cruel banker tells Jacob that his parents, who were Polish, used everything they owned as collateral for his tuition and he's on the street, and soon walking out of town. He hops onto a box car and discovers he's on a circus train. Since he was close to graduation, he's hired as the circus vet, and the story starts. When Marlena's white horse dies, August buys an elephant, and Jacob finds his long-lost language ability. Amazing, isn't it?
Pattinson and Witherspoon bring the action to a shrieking halt every time they're alone together, and Waltz' foul temper quickly runs itself out of being interesting. But the minor parts (Jim Norton as Camel, Mark Povenelli as Walter are brilliant) bring and hold interest, and he crowd and circus scenes are impressive.
Water for Elephants opens today
—Joe