|
|
Jacob (Robert Pattinson) falls in love with a married circus performer (Reese Witherspoon) in “Water for Elephants,” based on the novel by Sara Gruen. |
“Water for Elephants” could use an elephant hook to prod it along a little quicker, and some emotional fireworks to bring some burning desires to the main characters.
After all, this is supposed to be a timeless story of a tragic romantic triangle set against the backdrop of the Big Top during the Great Depression.
To work well, Francis Lawrence’s period drama needs the one thing it doesn’t get: the sense of unstoppable romantic destiny that Jacob shares with Marlena.
Here, they’re not destined to be together so much as they appear to bump into each other by circumstance, and, having few other options, fall for each other.
Based on the best-seller by former Grayslake resident Sara Gruen (which might explain Jacob’s lengthy voice-over narration guiding us along), “Water for Elephants” is told as a flashback by an elderly man named Jacob (Hal Holbrook), who appears to know something about the terrible Benzini Brothers circus tragedy of 1931. (Read more…)