I’ve spent the last couple of days musing over the movie “Water for Elephants”. I’d been waiting to see it for a long time and I was half-amused, half-disappointed to see that the vast majority of the people coming to watch it in cinema were teen and pre-teen girls with an obvious fixation for Robert Pattinson (they were given away by the countless “awww”s and “oooohhh”s that his appearance on screen generated). Leaving aside the fact that Pattinson’s performance was indeed impressive – not to mention those of Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz, who both created very credible, genuine, tormented characters – Water for Elephants is, in and of itself, remarkable mostly as a story.
I have to be honest about this and admit that this was not the kind of movie I’d normally go to the cinema for. In fact, it’s been a long time since I went to the cinema for anything but 3D movies or action-packed flicks that simply look better on a very large screen. I could have chosen to watch it in the comfort of my own home, without the fuss and expenses of going to the cinema, and I don’t think I would have missed any of its charm. However, after seeing a very inspired trailer (thank you, Erik Arbores), I felt like I HAD to watch it in cinema, that somehow the movie was worth all that effort and expense because it wasn’t just another romcom or even romantic drama like the ones Hollywood’s been turning out at a faster pace than I care to follow.
And I was right.
The story is told in a very credible manner. It is set in America, back in 1931, when the country was in the grip of the great depression and hunger and poverty were the demons haunting the people. The old adage that all people needed to be kept happy was panem et circum could hardly stand true since even obtaining the daily bread was often a challenge. It is under such circumstances that an actual circus tries to achieve success by virtually cutting off the bread ratio of its staff – replacing it with cheap booze, illegal, murderous practices, cruelty and abuse, and deceit, deceit, deceit. All in the name of creating a beautiful – and most importantly, profitable – illusion.
The three main characters are trapped themselves within this illusion, all the while remaining aware of the painful reality. Jacob, the talented young veterinarian, can see through the apparent calm of August and identify the violent, vicious man that he is. August, the flamboyant showman, dedicates his life to achieving financial success for the circus, neglecting and abusing his beautiful wife, despising her, in his heart, for the poverty of her previous situation and posing as her “saviour”. The delicate, beautiful Marlena is trapped in an unhappy marriage both because of the stern ascendancy of her husband and because of her own insecurities that “out there”, outside of that circus and marriage, she has nothing. The three of them know that “the world is played on tricks” but, like in a nightmare, are powerless to turn the play into reality and stop relying on those tricks.
As in any good story, there comes a moment in this trio’s life when things start going really wrong, really fast. As any writer or movie-maker probably knows, this is a make or break sort of moment. If you allow it to unfold too quickly, you’re wasting a lot of the potential tension in it. If you drag it out for too long, it loses momentum and the level of interest drops, making it a less crucial moment of the story. Fortunately, Francis Lawrence managed to graciously navigate this difficulty and created an extended moment in the movie that really adds to the tension and suspense without breaking or altering in any way the natural course and pace of the story.
I’m not going to say anything more about this movie, as I risk spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it. I’ll say this, though. If you want to remember what it’s like to live, dream and fight for what you want even against all odds, if you’re willing to believe, at least for a couple of hours, that “life is the most spectacular show on earth”, then go ahead and watch this movie.
I have to be honest about this and admit that this was not the kind of movie I’d normally go to the cinema for. In fact, it’s been a long time since I went to the cinema for anything but 3D movies or action-packed flicks that simply look better on a very large screen. I could have chosen to watch it in the comfort of my own home, without the fuss and expenses of going to the cinema, and I don’t think I would have missed any of its charm. However, after seeing a very inspired trailer (thank you, Erik Arbores), I felt like I HAD to watch it in cinema, that somehow the movie was worth all that effort and expense because it wasn’t just another romcom or even romantic drama like the ones Hollywood’s been turning out at a faster pace than I care to follow.
And I was right.
The story is told in a very credible manner. It is set in America, back in 1931, when the country was in the grip of the great depression and hunger and poverty were the demons haunting the people. The old adage that all people needed to be kept happy was panem et circum could hardly stand true since even obtaining the daily bread was often a challenge. It is under such circumstances that an actual circus tries to achieve success by virtually cutting off the bread ratio of its staff – replacing it with cheap booze, illegal, murderous practices, cruelty and abuse, and deceit, deceit, deceit. All in the name of creating a beautiful – and most importantly, profitable – illusion.
The three main characters are trapped themselves within this illusion, all the while remaining aware of the painful reality. Jacob, the talented young veterinarian, can see through the apparent calm of August and identify the violent, vicious man that he is. August, the flamboyant showman, dedicates his life to achieving financial success for the circus, neglecting and abusing his beautiful wife, despising her, in his heart, for the poverty of her previous situation and posing as her “saviour”. The delicate, beautiful Marlena is trapped in an unhappy marriage both because of the stern ascendancy of her husband and because of her own insecurities that “out there”, outside of that circus and marriage, she has nothing. The three of them know that “the world is played on tricks” but, like in a nightmare, are powerless to turn the play into reality and stop relying on those tricks.
As in any good story, there comes a moment in this trio’s life when things start going really wrong, really fast. As any writer or movie-maker probably knows, this is a make or break sort of moment. If you allow it to unfold too quickly, you’re wasting a lot of the potential tension in it. If you drag it out for too long, it loses momentum and the level of interest drops, making it a less crucial moment of the story. Fortunately, Francis Lawrence managed to graciously navigate this difficulty and created an extended moment in the movie that really adds to the tension and suspense without breaking or altering in any way the natural course and pace of the story.
I’m not going to say anything more about this movie, as I risk spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it. I’ll say this, though. If you want to remember what it’s like to live, dream and fight for what you want even against all odds, if you’re willing to believe, at least for a couple of hours, that “life is the most spectacular show on earth”, then go ahead and watch this movie.
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