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Film reviews

Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Water For Elephants (Film)

by Annette Basile | May 09, 2011 11:14 | Edited May 09, 2011 11:15

While it’s not without its flaws, this atmospheric and largely well-acted adaptation proves stronger than its source material.

This may be a mainstream movie, but it's low on Hollywood factory gloss and high on atmosphere. The Depression-era setting is superbly realised, while the seemingly off-kilter casting of Reese Witherspoon opposite Robert Pattinson ultimately works.

 

Pattinson is Jacob, a veterinary student sitting his final exam when he's confronted with the news that his parents have died in an accident. Penniless, aimless and with nothing left to lose, he jumps aboard a random train - conveniently, it's a circus train, so he's able to put his veterinary skills to use. But the married Marlena (Witherspoon) catches Jacob's eye, and from here, Water For Elephants becomes an absorbing, if slightly flawed, triangular love drama.

Twilight's Pattinson could be accused of making it big based on his bone structure. He won't get an Oscar nod for this, but he's surprisingly good, delivering a natural performance. Witherspoon, whose character leads the circus horses, seems somewhat uncomfortable, but as the drama intensifies, she becomes more convincing - as does the relationship between Marlena and Jacob. Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) plays the circus' head honcho, August Rosenbluth - Marlena's sadistic husband. August is horribly one-dimensional and cruel, but it's not sub-standard acting from Oscar winner Waltz; it's how the character is written.

Yet the storytelling itself is far more focused than in Sara Gruen's novel, from which this is adapted. Gruen's great secondary characters have been pushed aside, and the book's humour has been removed - but so has all the padding. The film is actually stronger than the book. And the key character of Rosie - the plot-changing elephant - is wonderfully brought to the fore. There are moments that don't ring true (like why does August take so long to figure out what's happening between Marlena and Jacob?). But I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence knows how to build an emotional journey, and this is one worth taking.