Water For Elephants :: Review
The circus setting in Water for Elephants is a colorful backdrop to a tried and true plot formula: vulnerable boy falls in love with girl that is in an unappealing relationship…love triangle ensues. This familiarity cannot be ignored and literally made me question if I had seen the movie already within the first 30 minutes. “Is this the circus version of Titanic?”
Once you accept that this is a no-surprise, non-unique, safe, romantic drama, then you can easily sit back and soak in the visuals. The details are outstanding and truly make up for any plot or acting holes. There is a magical lure to the presentation that kept me hanging on. It doesn’t hurt that the actors are attractive and visually fitting in their roles—specifically Robert Pattinson (insert wink here).
The acting is spotty. Pattinson, as cute as he may be, seems distant and generally disengaged. He has a constant look of boredom mixed with pain. There is virtually no chemistry between him and Witherspoon. Christopher Waltz brings in the most dynamic performance, but seems to be cut short. I would have enjoyed more time seeing Waltz. His character mimics Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds, which most likely adds to my bias towards him.
The Blu-ray has a decent amount of extras including, historical overview of American circuses, a sweet featurette spotlighting the elephant that played Rosie (Tai), notes on the novel to screen adaptation, and quick snapshots with the main actors. The 20 minute featurette regarding the creative visual effects process is the most enjoyable extra on the Blu-ray. The straight forward view of current CGI effects—without commentary—makes this incredibly fun to watch.
Water for Elephants, which often seems bloated, thin, and emotionally void, is so busy looking pretty that it forgets to provide real substance. It’s worth a girl’s-night-in as a renter, but it would be tough to recommend the Blu-ray for purchase.
Rating: 
