Water for Elephants

Water For Elephants Poster Robert Pattinson

Rating: 3.25 of 5 ★★★¼☆ 

I’d read the book, and I don’t particularly like Robert Pattinson, and I both loved and hated the elephant. So my curiosity of this movie had me kind of excited to see it.

I really liked how they evoked the time period. It was so beautiful and kind of magical in a very real sort of way. The whole movie just felt so good, if that makes sense. Maybe because I’m kind of particular to that time period – where the world was just on the verge of crossing from raw nature to the modern world. It’s one reason I like Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken also.

The adaptation was good. They kept so much of the core story and let extraneous (like the explanation of the title) and rough-hewn things fall by the wayside creating a more graceful, sweet film than book.

And I totally thought Robert Pattinson and the elephant made the movie. I know they cast Reese to headline the project but they both outshone her. There was a stillness and a maturity I haven’t seen in Robert before. It made me realize that if he’s smart about it, he’s going to grow into a much better man than the boy he’s been. He could be a George Clooney or something because he’s that handsome, he just needs to learn to refocus his charisma and embrace that maturity that gives him strength and keeps him from being such a flighty, odd boy. He like came to life when the elephant was on screen even more so than when he was with Reese which was kind of cute. And the movie made me truly the elephant more which just made me hate having missed it all the more.

I like that the whole movie has a great emotional resonance. I see the poster and even though I knew the plot before, having watched the movie that moment is really interesting and kind of alluring.

Writing:★★★☆☆ 
Characters:★★★☆☆ 
Performances:★★★☆☆ 
Directing:★★★½☆ 
Production:★★★★¼ 
Overall:★★★¼☆ 

April 21, 2011 | Review , , , | this post contains affiliate links