DVD Review: “Water for Elephants”

Water for Elephants

Released: November 1, 2011

Run Time: 121 Minutes

Studio:  Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

ABOUT:

Take a journey back in time with the romantic tale based on Sara Gruen’s New York Times #1 Best-Seller novel of the same name, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS.  Starring Academy Award®-winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk The Line), Robert Pattinson (Twilight series) and Oscar®-winner Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), the film presents an epic tale of forbidden love in a magical place filled with adventure, wonder and great danger. Showcasing the decadence of a bohemian circus and the majesty of its animals against the backdrop and beauty of a bygone era, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS makes the ideal holiday gift idea for your favorite film buff, fashionista or book-lover!

Devastated by the sudden death of his parents at the height of The Depression, a young dreamer from the wrong side of the tracks, Jacob Jankowski (Pattinson), abandons his veterinary studies at Cornell University. With no other family, no house, and no money, Jacob stows away on a train carrying the circus performers of The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.  Hired as a veterinarian to care for the troupe’s animals, Jacob is temporarily filled with the promise of an exciting life that comes with a traveling circus troupe. However, as he builds a rapport and falls in love with the star of the show, Marlena (Witherspoon), they become prey to the circus’s owner, Marlena’s violent and abusive husband August (Waltz). As the circus begins to crumble from within and against all odds, Jacob and Marlena come together and fall in love through their compassion for a special elephant. With their love on the line, Jacob and Marlena come to a crossroads that will forever change their destiny.

MY THOUGHTS:

Now I haven’t read the book (yet) so I don’t have anything to compare this movie to, but I did really like it.  So much so that I could probably watch it a few more times!  I also had no clue what the movie was about other than a circus and that it starred Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon.

The movie is about an old man who tells the story of how he fell for the star of a circus.  The story tells of how he comes to work for the circus as a vet, friends he makes there and his romance.  I thought that Pattinson and Witherspoon did an awesome job of playing their characters.  I laughed, I cried, and I gasped at parts in the movie, with it keeping me watching the whole time.  The movie is set during the Great Depression and it is interesting to see how the circus survives throughout it.

While Romance/Drama movies are not my usual genre of choice, I really liked this movie and think it was well made.

BUY IT: You can buy Water for Elephants wherever DVDs are sold.

Mom and More Disclosure: I was sent this DVD to review in exchange for my honest opinion. Please see my Disclosure Policy.