Water for Elephants

Robert Pattinson has finally won my approval after dedicating years of his life to the disaster that is the “Twilight” saga. Pattinson recently starred in the powerful film “Water for Elephants” by “I am Legend” director, Francis Lawrence. Pattinson shared the screen with Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon and Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz.

While Jacob, portrayed by Pattinson, is studying to become a veterinarian, his parents are killed in a car accident. After the bank takes everything he owns away in order to pay debts, he runs away and joins a traveling circus as their personal veterinarian to escape the life he lost. As he learns the ropes of the circus life and law, he finds love in the most unwelcome place: the main attraction to the show, the boss’s wife Marlena (Reese Witherspoon). He challenges the boss’s authority by making decisions on his own and becoming close friends with Marlena. After multiple threats and abusive tantrums, Jacob finally challenges the headmaster, August (Christoph Waltz), in a final epic battle between those who seek retribution and those who want to keep order under their control.

Pattinson really held his own next to two very big and accomplished actors. Frankly, he hasn’t gained the best reputation from being part of the “Twilight” series. Pattinson had to take whatever part he could to get into the movie business; however, it is discomforting to think that to really become a mainstream actor, he had to stoop to having “Twilight” on his resume. He has a lot of talent and a lot of potential. Nonetheless, he still has a long way to go. He is still nowhere near Reese’s talent level yet, but I think he will get there soon.  In “Water for Elephants” Pattinson made the character his own, never did I think, “What the heck is Edward Cullen doing here?”

This story is based off the book, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and to be transferred to a screenplay is always difficult. As with any adapted story, there are things that have to be dropped and some things that have to be added to make the story flow in a movie format.  For that reason, some movies suffer from lack of a better story. Despite that, the storyline in “Water for Elephants” was very understandable and relatable. It had a strong, unwarranted love story, an epic battle between employee and employer, weak animals fighting for survival against an evil uncaring master, and an abusive relationship between a power hungry drunkard and his wife.

 There are very few movies where I feel as if the “bad guy” is so bad that you literally want to watch them die slowly and painfully. Whether that speaks ill of me and my character or something else, so be it. I believe this may be one of those movies. August’s character was an extremely complicated character. At times I thought he would be okay, and at others I wanted to kick his teeth in. Traveling from these two extremes kept me guessing whether I hated him or not. I don’t think he is the best bad guy I have ever seen, but Waltz definitely made it a close call. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors on screen today.

This movie blew me away in some many different ways. The story was so tangible it felt more like it was actual historical events. I felt everything Jacob felt. He lived a perilous life, and pursued a treacherous love. If he is worthy of any of it in the end, I leave up to you.

Final Grade: A