‘Water for Elephants’ Lacks Credible Love Story

What happened to Reese Witherspoon? She used to be one of the wittiest, most enjoyably sardonic actresses in Hollywood. After her marvelous debut in Robert Mulligan’s swan song, The Man in the Moon, Witherspoon went on to deliver memorable, often hilarious performances in films such as Freeway, Pleasantville and Election.

But since she won an Oscar for her spot-on channeling of June Carter Cash in 2005’s Walk the Line, the actress has been curiously miscast. The feistiness and off-kilter charm of her previous work has given way to a certain lackluster blankness that has never been more apparent than in Water for Elephants, Francis Lawrence’s diverting yet disappointing adaptation of Sara Gruen’s beloved novel.

Moviegoers seem to have react accordingly. Box Office Mojo reported the movie grossed $17.5 million on its opening weekend behind Rio, which retained its No. 1 spot for the second consecutive weekend, and Tyler Perry's latest offering, Madea’s Big Happy Family, which debut at No. 2 in ticket sales.

Set in the golden age of traveling circus acts, the story has all the earmarks of an old-fashioned romance. The central love triangle follows an ageless formula: poor boy falls for the beautiful girl of a formidable foe. Let’s just call it the “Moulin Titanic” syndrome.

In the case of Water for Elephants, the penniless protagonist is Jacob (Robert Pattinson), a veterinary student at Cornell University, whose educational career comes to a grinding halt after his parents are killed in an accident. With no home to return to, Jacob takes the next logical step: He joins the Benzini Bros. circus.

It would be easy to blame Pattinson for this film’s failure, but he actually isn’t half-bad. Sure, some of his line deliveries (particularly in the narration) sound as if he were reading a book report, but the actor’s low-key approach proves to be rather effective. He conveys the daze and awkwardness of a young man whose foundation has been entirely uprooted.

It’s clear that Pattinson is eager to leave his sparkle skinned vampire in Twilight behind, and though his attempts at “adult acting” have faltered in recent pictures (such as How to Be), his work in Elephants holds considerable promise for his post-fang roles.

What Pattinson needed here was a strong co-star to play off of, and Witherspoon simply doesn’t fit the bill. As Marlena, the put-upon wife of deranged menagerie director August (Christoph Waltz), Witherspoon appears oddly uncomfortable. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that her romantic co-star is 10 years her junior. Perhaps it’s because he played her son in a deleted scene from Mira Nair’s Vanity Fair.

Whatever the reason, her detached demeanor results in a glaring lack of chemistry with Pattinson. Since director Lawrence keeps the film paced at a dreamlike dirge, scenes that should’ve been steamy end up feeling conspicuously vacant.

There are a number of moments when Witherspoon’s face is required to convey a complex array of emotions, but her performance remains naggingly one-note, as if she were channeling the stagnant angst of Bella Swan. Her eyes merely shift half-heartedly between the two leading men in her life, torn between Team Jacob and Team Basketcase.

With the bland love story dead in the water, all audience attention shifts to Waltz, who is truly one of the most engaging actors in modern cinema. On the heels of his Oscar-winning work as the “Bingo”-spewing Nazi in Inglourious Basterds, Waltz takes great delight in sinking his teeth into a more tortured, albeit equally detestable low-life.

He has one of those faces that seems to have been made for villainy. His cold eyes and toothy grin give him the cheerily malevolent appearance of a jack-o’-lantern. Yet August is clearly battling demons within himself, the specifics of which are left ambiguous. 

The script by Richard LaGravenese (writer of the infinitely superior Bridges of Madison County) dilutes the haunting atmosphere of Gruen’s novel. It hits all the melodramatic beats at a numbingly predictable pace, causing the midsection to drag whenever Waltz isn’t center stage.

Further levity is offered by towering elephant Tai, the film’s only true crowd-pleaser, which isn’t allowed to have much of a personality, but does get to partake in a few inspired sight gags. Best of all are the scenes that bookend the picture, featuring Hal Holbrook (as the elderly Jacob) in a performance of transcendent grace. His delivery of the line, “I’m coming home,” is almost worth the price of admission. Almost.

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