REVIEW: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS: PG-13
Had I not read Sara Gruen's electrifying novel of the 1930's Depression era Circus there was no chance I was going to catch "Water for Elephants," what with the "dude from 'Twilight'" Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, looks like a chick-flick right? Perhaps the chick-flick part is true, I must say that about the movie, the audience was about 80% elderly folks, probably 90& women.
I read the novel when I was in late 6th grade mostly due to the lure of the critical appraisal the book had sprawled all over it's back cover and the look of a man entering a circus tent. I read the thing in a matter of days. It was so captivating: The setting of the Depression era circus, the sinister villain August, the enchanting heroine Marlena, and the down-on-his-luck underdog Pollack Jacob Jankowski who, after his parent's death joins the circus...it all seemed like a larger than life tale. And who could forget the humor of the older Jacob, who recalls his circus tales in flashback.
Well, apparently director Francis Lawrence did, because that part of the movie "Water for Elephants" is painfully missing. Hal Holbrook, in an almost cameo role (he gets so little screen time) plays the older Jacob as I envisioned him in the novel.
But let's not play around....the (of course you have to add the lame circus pun reference) star of the show is not Edward Cullen, though Pattinson does give an interestingly restrained Jacob Jankowski, is of course Christoph Waltz, of Inglorious Basterds fame. Some actors worry about typecasting, like Gary Oldman for instance, who are always cast as villains. Waltz shouldn't have to worry about that...ever since he's come over to American cinema he's played the antagonist in all 3 of his selected films: Basterds, The Green Hornet, and now Water for Elephants. WFE has gotten mixed reviews, but in all the ones I have read it is praising his dynamic, firecracker performance as the unpredictable August, the ringleader of the circus, where it's his way or the highway...literally, he throws people off trains for budget cuts, attitudes, etc. Maybe not another Oscar nomination in his future, but if he doesn't get at least some guild nomination for his work, there will be some sort of injustice.
Readers of WFE will have a hard time not constantly comparing the film to the book...but isn't that in all literature to cinema adaptations? In 7th grade I actually started a rough draft of a screenplay for Water for Elephants just for fun. In my mind I pictured an epic odyssey of Jacob Jankowski and the hilarious and tragic adventures he faces. Francis Lawrence has made an interesting adaptation to one of my favorite novels of all time, he did a great job directing I Am Legend back in 2007. But WFE lacks depth, a strong chemistry between Pattinson & Witherspoon, and character development. It will satisfy all those readers out there, though, who read Gruen's pages and realized there had to be a film version coming soon.
Rating: 7/10
I read the novel when I was in late 6th grade mostly due to the lure of the critical appraisal the book had sprawled all over it's back cover and the look of a man entering a circus tent. I read the thing in a matter of days. It was so captivating: The setting of the Depression era circus, the sinister villain August, the enchanting heroine Marlena, and the down-on-his-luck underdog Pollack Jacob Jankowski who, after his parent's death joins the circus...it all seemed like a larger than life tale. And who could forget the humor of the older Jacob, who recalls his circus tales in flashback.
Well, apparently director Francis Lawrence did, because that part of the movie "Water for Elephants" is painfully missing. Hal Holbrook, in an almost cameo role (he gets so little screen time) plays the older Jacob as I envisioned him in the novel.
But let's not play around....the (of course you have to add the lame circus pun reference) star of the show is not Edward Cullen, though Pattinson does give an interestingly restrained Jacob Jankowski, is of course Christoph Waltz, of Inglorious Basterds fame. Some actors worry about typecasting, like Gary Oldman for instance, who are always cast as villains. Waltz shouldn't have to worry about that...ever since he's come over to American cinema he's played the antagonist in all 3 of his selected films: Basterds, The Green Hornet, and now Water for Elephants. WFE has gotten mixed reviews, but in all the ones I have read it is praising his dynamic, firecracker performance as the unpredictable August, the ringleader of the circus, where it's his way or the highway...literally, he throws people off trains for budget cuts, attitudes, etc. Maybe not another Oscar nomination in his future, but if he doesn't get at least some guild nomination for his work, there will be some sort of injustice.
Readers of WFE will have a hard time not constantly comparing the film to the book...but isn't that in all literature to cinema adaptations? In 7th grade I actually started a rough draft of a screenplay for Water for Elephants just for fun. In my mind I pictured an epic odyssey of Jacob Jankowski and the hilarious and tragic adventures he faces. Francis Lawrence has made an interesting adaptation to one of my favorite novels of all time, he did a great job directing I Am Legend back in 2007. But WFE lacks depth, a strong chemistry between Pattinson & Witherspoon, and character development. It will satisfy all those readers out there, though, who read Gruen's pages and realized there had to be a film version coming soon.
Rating: 7/10
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