WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (2011)

Proudly romantic/melodramatic, novelist Sara Gruen cleverly plants her sturdy depression-era love triangle in the self-contained world of a traveling one-ring circus.  It’s effective, but those who haven’t read the book may wonder if its old-fashioned storytelling virtues seem as generic and over-processed as they do on-screen; faults abetted by a production too smooth by half and leading players that yield stylistic points to stars of earlier eras.*  Robert Pattinson, in the midst of his TWILIGHT years, answers all emotions with a shy smile as an all but graduated veterinarian-on-the-run who hops a circus train and winds up ‘house vet’ and love interest to daredevil artiste Reese Witherspoon, uncomfortably wed to psycho-sadistic owner Christoph Waltz.  Reasonably well-caught period atmosphere* helps prop up a mess of underdeveloped supporting characters, but does less to make sense of the film’s big climax.  (Get back at the boss by destroying your own job; at the height of the Depression?)  Waltz does his creepy pendulum act (fawning or frightening as needed to get us to the next story beat) while Pattinson & Witherspoon have more chemistry with their new performing elephant than they do with each other.  Director Francis Lawrence, hoping to have his cake and eat it too, tries for tasteful and corny at the same time (like driving a car with the emergency break on).  But in spite of a lack of zest, enough hokum sneaks past the sobriety gatekeepers for the show to go on.

SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY:  *Say, Kirk Douglas, Montgomery Clift & Susan Hayward in for Waltz, Pattinson & Witherspoon; the boys, at least when dressed up, even looking a bit like Kirk & Monty.

DOUBLE-BILL/LINK:  Depression-era circus atmosphere was never better caught than in the original DUMBO/’41.  (Tim Burton’s live-action redo best avoided.)  And for something overblown & three-ringy, there’s insanity to spare in C.B. DeMille’s THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH/’52, with Gloria Grahame & Lyle Bettger anticipating the Witherspoon/Waltz relationship.    https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2019/11/dumbo-2019.html    https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-greatest-show-on-earth-1952.html

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID:  You can see just the sort of period detail ELEPHANTS fumbles when its filmmakers go to the trouble of cutting in a close-up of a 78rpm record nearing its groove run-out limit only to continue playing for another two minutes.  Vinyl may have made a comeback, but apparently shellac remains a complete mystery to younger filmmakers.