Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson), a veterinary student, is close to graduating when a terrible tragedy forces him to leave school. With nowhere else to go, he hops on a passing train and finds it belongs to a travelling circus. Jacob takes a job as an animal caretaker and meets Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), a beautiful circus performer. Their shared compassion for a special elephant named Rosie leads to love, but August (Christoph Waltz), Marlena's cruel husband, stands in their way.
Water For Elephants is a period romantic melodrama and is a very similar story to Disney's latest "live-action" adaptation of Dumbo. The interesting thing is that I much prefer this. While Water For Elephants is clearly a romance film, that particular aspect of the story is not the only thing of importance. There are a series of storylines and arcs around the Benzini Brothers Circus, that are independent of the romance, and it creates a much more immersive experience.
The film seems to draw inspiration from the style and structure of James Cameron's Titanic, opening the movie with the elderly "current-day" version of our lead character who is telling his story before the film flashes back in time for the majority of the film, coming back to the current day at the conclusion. Apart from these little bookend scenes, the narrative is linear and very easy to follow. The majority of the film takes place in the past so let's turn our focus to that part of the film.
Visually, Water For Elephants is gorgeous. The sets and costume design are on point and really look like something you would expect from the 1930s. And much like you would anticipate one's treasured memories to be, you can feel the love and warmth that our protagonist has for his time at the circus; everything is very light, soft, and warm in tone.
As this is all about a 1930s circus, live animals are par for the course. It's actually quite conflicting to see because we all know about the abuse that the animals go through in these situations, but to visually see it happen with our own eyes, it really hits home. Luckily, as all of the animals seen on screen are real bonafide animals, we can be happy in knowing that any abuse is faked with CGI. It is fascinating how spectacular it is to see a real animal used in a film, especially when you can imagine how difficult it would be to choreograph a scene to include them while ensuring they are treated properly the entire time. Of course, because there are animals, that means Rosie the Elephant is technically an actress (played by Tai the Elephant), who despite having a smaller role in the film, performs well.
The other cast do well aswell. Robert Pattinson is fine; though he does come across rather wooden at the start, he seems to warm up to the role as the film progresses, much as his character would be expected to react as he enters a new environment before becoming accustomed to it. His performance is overshadowed by Christoph Waltz, who really steals the spotlight in everything he does. He always manages to put on a great performance when it comes to portraying characters that have an outwardly pleasant exterior hiding a darker core, and his descent and unstable nature is perfectly displayed.
Water For Elephants does an amazing job of developing the world of a travelling circus. It takes its time building relationships, explaining hierarchies, and general daily tasks that go on. It feels like a real situation from the amount of information provided. Not just a couple of characters in a place, but an entire society with its unique social structures and laws. The strength in the development really helps to gain that emotional engagement with the audience, but also has the negative effect of slowing the pace of the film in the first two acts.
The romantic storyline is adequate. It follows most of the expected tropes, but the way that it is interwoven with the other storylines keeps you engaged. Unfortunately, the romance is the weak point in the film, with Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson's characters having very few interactions worthy of creating love, over lust. It feels more like a schoolyard crush than the life-changing romance that director Francis Lawrence wants it to be.
Overall, the film is a great reminder of why circus animals are a bad thing, while also bringing attention to what life in the travelling circus was like for those that had nothing to go home to, which almost looks like a dystopian past. The acting was satisfactory, and the romance portion of the film was not the sole focus of the film, giving it more mainstream appeal.
Water For Elephants is a spectacle as you watch it, but forgettable once it ends, and yet, as I mentioned earlier, this is what I wish 2019's Dumbo had been.