Water for Elephants DVD (REVIEW)

Looking for a heartwarming movie with great performances and even better costumes? Check out WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. And be sure to use this post to discuss the book and movie - I want to see your thoughts!

Released November 1, 2011 by Fox Home Entertainment
DVD
120 minutes

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Today is the conclusion for our amazing WATER FOR ELEPHANTS Week activities, and since today is the release day of the DVD, it is fitting that we review the movie today.  If you haven’t read the book, don’t worry, this is a movie where you won’t be lost, but as I always say, think about reading the book before you see the movie. Sometimes you’ll be surprised!

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS follows the same story as the novel, casting Robert Pattinson as Jacob and Reese Witherspoon as his love interest Marlena. The movie stays true to the book, from the characters to the scenes, even taking time to show minor aspects of the book that I thought they would overlook, such as the dwarf and his dog. However, there were so many details of the book forgotten by the movie that made the book special to me, which automatically became a slight nitpick.

I really enjoyed seeing the details of the book with my own eyes on screen, from the hierarchy of the roustabouts to the ringmaster and the society these people created for themselves in the confines of the circus. Living in their own society with their own rules, these people got away with a lot, and the movie takes this into consideration. Some of the sexier aspects of the book were overlooked for the safety of a PG-13 rating of course. This didn’t detract from the movie in my thoughts.

The casting in this movie was great. Although Robert Pattinson didn’t bring as much to the table as I had hoped (and I still saw Edward Cullen every moment he was on screen), Reese Witherspoon’s performance as a battered wife was amazing, as was Christopher Waltz as her abusive husband. Witherspoon’s performance with the animals was especially entertaining – even though I don’t know how much she actually did herself, it was very impressing and believable.  The minor characters were also well cast and well performed, bringing to this movie an honesty the book deserved.

Even if you previously read the novel, you will not get bored. The movie moves at a great pace and weaves its tale in much the same way as the book, incorporating flashbacks and present day narration from an elderly Jacob.  And the costumes alone are amazing and to die for. If you’re a fashion nut like me, you will appreciate that alone.

VERDICT: With stunning performances, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS will not disappoint, even with a few small nitpicks here and there. It’s a movie worth seeing.

♥♥♥♥ - FOUR HEARTS

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (REVIEW)

An exciting book about love, the Depression, and the circus, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS takes you to the strange and alluring world of the Benzini Brothers Circus and into the lives of some wonderful characters.

 Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.

Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive 'ship of fools'. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
335 Pages
Published April 9th, 2006 by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

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In WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, Sara Gruen takes us into the world of the circus during the Great Depression and the incredible lives associated with it.  For Jacob Jankowski, the circus is just about a last chance that fate has given him after some untimely luck.  Joining with the Benzini Brothers to care for their animals, Jacob is launched into a world that’s strange and unusual for him, and provides the backdrop for reminiscing when he’s 90 and in a nursing home many years later.

With vivid imagery, you’re taken into the world of the circus and into the lives of these characters.  The characters themselves are very believable and fleshed out, especially August the animal trainer.  His viciousness and mood swings were gripping and his evolution into the bad guy had me sitting there waiting for more.  And as the husband of Marlena, Jacob’s romantic interest, August had plenty of opportunity to be jealous and controlling.  Even secondary characters were well formed and fleshed out, giving the book even more life and character.  Even Rosie the elephant becomes a character that you fall in love with by the end of the book.

The author tackles a bunch of interesting subjects and has obviously researched them all thoroughly.  From the drinking of Sterno fluid during Prohibition and its effects afterwards to the history of the circus originally as an event for men to get on with their hoochy koochy stuff, Gruen provides a well researched take on everything.  This research shows and if you’re a history nut like me you will not be disappointed.

What I had a slight problem with was the love story.  It was very sweet, but it was also somewhat stereotypical.  Boy comes along and becomes the knight in shining armor to the damsel in distress.  It was still a believable, romantic, and heartwarming love story, and it makes you remember that back in the day, people thought that women were property of men.  Even in the circus with people protecting one another there was no escape from domestic violence.

The story in the past and in the nursing home blended seamlessly and the transitions were impeccable.  Gruen crafted a well researched and well written love story that, though with its small faults, was a very good novel.  Gruen is definitely an author that I want to watch and read more of.

VERDICT: Even though it suffers from a stereotypical romance, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is a well-crafted, heartwarming novel that keeps you glued to your seat wanting more of the circus and the atmosphere.

♥♥♥♥ - FOUR HEARTS

Water for Elephants Week - Study Guide

Water for Elephants Week

The Study Guide!

Water for Elephants Week is a week devoted to the book and upcoming DVD release of Water for Elephants.  If you haven't already entered the contest for a copy of the DVD and book, check out the sidebar for a link.  Or it's just the post below this one.

As part of the festivities lasting until next Friday, I would like to invite you to do a readalong and discussion about the book with me!  And I even have a study guide for you to help facilitate a discussion so we can gossip and gab about the book and the movie if you've already seen it.  I would love if someone participates with me, because it gets you extra entries into the contest!  While reading and remembering the movie, use this guide to help you focus on some key parts.  I will be opening the discussion post tomorrow!

Water for Elephants Week GIVEAWAY!

LIFE IS THE MOST SPECTACULAR SHOW ON EARTH

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS WEEK
DVD/BOOK BUNDLE GIVEAWAY

Win a novel/DVD bundle of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, out on Blu-ray and DVD November 1st!

Based on Sara Gruen’s epic novel about forbidden love, and directed by critically acclaimed filmmaker Francis Lawrence (Constantine), WATER FOR ELEPHANTS stars Robert Pattinson as Jacob, a man devastated by the sudden death of his parents at the height of The Depression. When Jacob abandons his veterinary studies and stows away on a train carrying circus performers, his life is changed forever. Hired as a veterinarian to care for the circus’ animals, Jacob is temporarily filled with the promise of an exciting life that comes with a traveling circus troupe. 

However, as he falls in love with the star of the show, Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), they become prey to the circus’s owner, Marlena’s abusive husband August (Christoph Waltz). With their love on the line, the circus begins to crumble from within, and Jacob and Marlena come to a crossroads that will forever change their destiny. 

For your chance to win a prize bundle including Sara Gruen’s novel and a copy of the WATER FOR ELEPHANTS DVD, simply answer the following question:

Who directed WATER FOR ELEPHANTS?

· Christoph Waltz

· Richard LaGravenese

· Francis Lawrence

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