Water for Elephants is an unexpectedly successful adaptation that of Sara Gruen's novel that, contrary to what its trailers would tell us, manages to not fall into the Hollywood trap of focusing solely upon a love triangle that just.
Water for Elephants is an unexpectedly successful adaptation of Sara Gruen&8217;s novel that, contrary to what its trailers would tell us, manages to not fall into the Hollywood trap of focusing solely upon a love triangle that just happens to exist within an otherwise captivating and fairly original story. Even stranger in regard to this positive experience is that the film was directed by (get ready for this) Francis Lawrence (Constantine; I Am Legend), who has previously shown a great capacity for visual flair at the ultimate expense of story. Here, the screenplay by Richard LaGravenese trims the unnecessary moments out of the book so that Lawrence is then free to lavish his trademark flourishes without dragging the entire production into oblivion. It&8217;s a wonderful partnership that must be replicated in future films. In fact, it is to the credit of LaGravenese&8217;s sharply focused script and Lawrence&8217;s attention to detail that the movie&8217;s characters (and the primary three are remarkably well developed) are allowed to convincingly reveal the motivations behind their actions within the swirling chaos that was life in the Great Depression. The circus setting, of course, provides a temporary respite from the threats that exist when one doesn&8217;t live in a moving caravan, but there are tradeoffs to the lifestyle, as Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson) soon realizes.
The film opens with a very brief introduction by Old Jacob (Hal Holbrook, playing the same sort of role that Gloria Stuart did for Titanic), who begins to tell the tale of why he wants to &8220;come home&8221; to the circus. Then, we meet up with young Jacob while his sheltered life as a Cornell veterinary student comes to a screeching halt when his Polish immigrant parents are killed in an off-screen car accident. Since his parents remortgaged the family home to pay for their son&8217;s education, Jacob is left destitute and decides, on a whim, to hop onto a freight train. Upon awakening the next morning, he discovers that he&8217;s hitched a ride with the Benzini Brothers Circus and quickly falls in as the production&8217;s veterinarian. Naturally, he takes notice of the show&8217;s star performer, Marlena Rosenbluth (Reese Witherspoon), and is taken under the wing of her husband, August (Christoph Waltz), whose character has been slightly expanded from the book, so that he&8217;s not only the animal trainer but also the man-in-charge, which presents all sorts of financial impetus for his character&8217;s inevitable rages.
By condensing certain aspects of the story from the book version, the screenplay removes the possibility of overpowering a movie that&8217;s already rather epic both in its grandeur and scope. When dealing in particular with the character of August, it&8217;s no mistake that this story churns against backdrop of the Great Depression with the story picking up in 1931 at the height of falling circuses. As a matter of course, August informs Jacob that he runs his circus as a &8220;sovereign nation&8221; subject only to his own rule and &8220;where everything is an illusion.&8221; However, as hard as August tries to insulate himself and his company from real-world troubles, he also fails magnificently. By adding the fallout from August&8217;s financial realities into the mix, the film does not place August&8217;s character traits solely under the realm of a mental disorder (as in the book) but also situates him as a manifestation of what some men will do in the most desperate of times. It must be noted, however, that August&8217;s behavior is never excused by any means, but the movie provides a rather engrossing look at an even more complicated character than the book dares to suggest.
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