Water for Elephants (movie and book)

[Bewitched]

Loved this book. I finally took the plunge and read it last fall. I don't know why but I had no clue that it was based in a circus setting otherwise i would have picked it up sooner. Brought back some memories. I can't wait for the movie.

[Suzan]

I finally read this book last week, it's been on my to-read-list forever, and I absolutely LOVED it. When I saw pictures of the movie a couple of months ago I thought it looked so beautiful, I was imediately interested. And besides being a fan of Rob obviously, I'm also a fan of Reese. I think she's amazing. Plus I love stories set in history and then there was this little character called Rosie. So, that is when I decided I had to read the book.

There is such a big contrast between the present-day life and the 1930's life for Jacob and still they were both exciting to read. I really liked the parts where he is throwing a fit in the nursing home and I felt for him too. It must be so lonely and scary, sitting in your room all day long thinking that you're going to lose your memory.
I liked the ending too. It had a Rocky kind of feel to it. I felt like singing Eye of the Tiger: Dum... dum dum dum... dum dum dum... dum dum duuum. But, serious again, I was glad that he could go back and sort of relive the happiest time of his life.

So, the last couple of day's I've been catching up on the trailers and interviews and stuff for the movie. I have to say that it looks so amazingly gorgeous that I can't wait to see it! But I was wondering, did they change the background story for Marlena? I thought I heard Reese say that Marlena was an orphan, but in the books didn't she run away so she wouldn't have to marry some guy her parents choose? And did they cut the character of Uncle Al out of the story al together?

[velvet409]

But I was wondering, did they change the background story for Marlena? I thought I heard Reese say that Marlena was an orphan, but in the books didn't she run away so she wouldn't have to marry some guy her parents choose? And did they cut the character of Uncle Al out of the story al together?

They did change Marlena's backstory for the movie. In the book Marlena comes from a fairly well-to-do family who is about to marry her off to a banker. When the circus comes to town and she visits, August sweeps her off her feet and convinces her to run away with him and her family promptly disowns her for it. In the movie, they apparently make her an orphan working in a shop where August "discovers" her and turns her into a star performer; August seems to have a kind of Svengali-like relationship with her. I don't really understand the reasoning for this change because the outcome is the same either way: Marlena doesn't leave the circus because she doesn't have anywhere to go. Maybe it'll make more sense once I've seen the movie. *shrugs*

And yes they combined the characters of August and Uncle Al for the movie. They basically just made August the ringmaster and incorporated some of Al's traits into his character. I thought this was a good change to make for the movie.

[skatepixie]

I read the book a few years back -- in large part because it was written during Nanowrimo. I loved it and I've been looking forward to the movie for a while. Saw it on Saturday and it lived up to expectations and hopes for me.

My only caution for people is that there is violence against animals in this. Some animal lovers might have a hard time with certain scenes.

Over all, though, it was a great movie, and Rob does a great job. I don't think he has to worry about being typecast as Edward forever -- he's showed a lot of depth here.

[Suzan]

Thanks for explaining velvet409! I don't understand why they would change the Marlena story as well. Maybe they thought "being married off" is too old fashioned and audiences wouldn't understand why she wouldn't have a place to go back to or why she would leave her parents in the first place??
The August/Uncle Al combination is a little unnecessary imo, but somehow I also don't really mind. I guess they were already sort of similar in my head while reading the book. Both manipulative and cruel.
Anyway, I shouldn't judge before I see the movie which won't be out for another week here.

My only caution for people is that there is violence against animals in this. Some animal lovers might have a hard time with certain scenes.

I absolutely agree with you. I really want to see the movie with my mom and sister because I think they would love the story (they haven't read the book), but they are big-time animal lovers. Especially my sister gets upset with animal cruelty. So I'm not sure if I should take them.

[marielle]

Suzan, did you see the movie already???
I just watched it today in Pathe, here in the Hague... it was so amazing, so good,...
I haven't read the book so I don't know if the script is as good as the book but I thought the story was told really well, you didn't really notice any cuts from the original story like I did with Eragon or Twilight...

[Suzan]

No, I haven't seen it yet, darnit! I was planning on going this week but couldn't so now I'm going next Thursday with a few of my friends. I can't wait!

About the book: I think it's really good. You should read it if you have the time. It's also quite a short story so it shouldn't be too difficult to fit it in a movie. There are some significant changes between book and movie though, but I can't judge yet. I'll be sure to come back here and discuss once I've seen it!

[Suzan]

(sorry for the double post)

OMG! OMG! OMG!
I just got back from seeing WfE a.k.a. THE MOST SPECTACULAR MOVIE ON EARTH (finally ) I absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED it!!!!
Thought the beginning was kinda slow, but after reading the book I still loved that they showed the whole back-story. Towards the middle it really picked up pace and I was sold. And the ending was just awwww! *sigh* This will be my favorite movie for a loooong time to come.

I went with three of my friends who are not really into Twilight and one of them hadn't ever heard of it or Robert (how is that possible?) and they really liked it too. One of them even wanted to borrow the book from me and another is borrowing Twilight!

Reese and Christopher were amazing but I have to say that Rob also did a spectacular job. To carry a whole movie like that next to those two actors is just worthy. And, yes, he also looks breathtaking, beautiful, dashing ... (should I go on ).
But seriously Francis Lawrence and everyone involved in making this movie, were you honestly trying to kill me with that shot of a drunken Jacob carried by drunken partiers, looking stunning in a tux, legs spread (a.k.a crotch forward) coming towards me, huh? *mind definitely went straight to gutter* And Rob coming out of the suitcase dressed as a clown (or whatever it was supposed to be), OMG Laughed my freaking bum off! And the scene with Rosie walking all nonchalantly to drink some lemonade and then putting herself right back where she came from was brilliant.

I can go on and on and on but I really should be getting ready for bed. If someone is interested I will be back to discuss book vs movie (which I think was really nicely done) or something else.

EDIT: It's three days later and I'm still in a WfE haze. I did have some more time to think about it and I realized there was quite a large part of the book left out of the movie. But since I only noticed it now, I guess I didn't really miss it. It works for the movie to focus on the main story of the circus but I really enjoyed the parts of the book in the nursing home. They show the large contrast between the two time points in Jacob's life and how depressed he has become without the circus, his Rosie and of course his Marlena. That was what made it so touching for me in the end when he finally reaches the circus and gets to spent the rest of his life with this circus. Anyway, just wanted to have that said and I still love the movie.

I tried to convince my mother and sister to see the movie but as soon as I mentioned animal abuse to warn them about those scenes they said no. Whatever I said after that about how great the movie is, they just didn't want to hear it. I though it was kinda unfair to not even consider it and it's incredibly frustrating since I know they would absolutely love the story. Maybe I can change their minds when I'm watching the dvd. (I tricked my sister into watching Twilight that way and now she loves it.) Does anyone know when it is coming out? I can't wait to see it again but it looks like I won't be able to go back to the theater.

[Tornado]

I saw WFE recently (I haven't read the book) and below is my review.

***SPOILERS*** Don't read on if you don't want some details on things that happen in the movie.

I thought it was fantastic. It was enjoyable, it flowed well as a movie. The performances were good, it was directed well, the music was complementary but not overbearing, it had a great look about it.

The only criticism I would give of it is that when Jacob gets back on the train after Marlena has been taken from him, it was not obvious enough that Camel and Walter had been thrown off the train. I picked up that they had pretty quickly, and I know Marlena explained it later, but I thought it would have been more effective if he'd found a body when he was walking along the tracks. I must confess I was expecting this to happen. So maybe it was a bit too obvious! Also, I think we should have seen a little more of Rob being beaten up. Not too much, just a little more. It was too brief.

Other than that, I thought it was great. Christoph Waltz did a great job of getting across an unhinged man trying to hold his little world together. I thought we could have seen a little bit more of that, actually, in terms of people getting thrown off trains, but maybe I'm being a bit sadistic. Reese Witherspoon was fantastic at presenting a woman trying not to be unfaithful, but failing. I thought it worked really well that she was a little cold to Jacob the morning after they'd kissed for the first time, seeming to shrug it off. I thought the chemistry between she and Rob was there and I thought it worked. It has to be remembered that they are two people trying to resist the way they feel about each other. There should be a little hesitancy between them.

I thought Robert Pattinson was great in it. I did not spot one accent flaw. Not being American, I guess I could have missed some, but I'm usually good at picking up on that. He stuffed up the accent several times in Remember Me. While the part of Jacob might not have been a huge departure for him, honestly, how many leading man roles are huge departures from other leading man roles? I thought he showed depth beyond Edward Cullen. The character he was playing was, by no means, Edward. I thought he showed a good range and it has confirmed my opinion that he is a promising young actor who, I hope, will do great things in the future.

However, I am now absolutely enraged at the stupid critics, some of whom have criticised him simply for the sake of criticising him. Just on Saturday, in our city paper, the reviewer said something to this effect: "Twilight's Robert Pattinson has many moody money-making closeups. We may never get to see him change expression in our lifetime". That was by no means the case! This is the curse of movies like Twilight; the actors in them have to work hard to be taken seriously. I mean, what does the guy have to do to be taken seriously? I know what he has to do: star in a movie that doesn't make money.

[smitten_by_twilight]

Read the book three years ago, just saw the movie last night. I think I enjoyed the movie more (Reese, Rob , Christopher, and Tai), and the costuming and scenery was great, but the book was better, of course.

I don't understand why they would change the Marlena story as well. Maybe they thought "being married off" is too old fashioned and audiences wouldn't understand why she wouldn't have a place to go back to or why she would leave her parents in the first place??

Even after seeing it I don't get why they did this. They could have taken exactly the same amount of time and said that she was from a very well-off family who disowned and disinherited her after she ran off with August, which is pretty much the story and avoids the getting-married-off bit. I think people would get that. Sometimes I don't understand scriptwriters. Why deviate from a book when there is no reason?

I thought Robert Pattinson was great in it. I did not spot one accent flaw. Not being American, I guess I could have missed some, but I'm usually good at picking up on that.

I am American, and I didn't notice any either. Of course, he was doing American with a slight Polish accent. One of the great things about an American accent is that, even before you account for non-native English speakers (or non-native American English speakers), we have several regional accents. For example, people from the Southwest can, with very little concentration, distinguish between characteristic Californian, Arizonan, and Texan accents. In New York there are different accents for Brooklyn, Queens, the rest of Long Island, the Bronx, and various upstate accents. (There is no Manhattan accent. Most Manhattanites came from somewhere else.) Didn't mean to digress so much, but leaving it in.

"Twilight's Robert Pattinson has many moody money-making closeups. We may never get to see him change expression in our lifetime". That was by no means the case!

Completely agree with you. Wonder if this guy even watched the movie or just the publicity shots. Slight but meanful changes of expression are something that I look for in an actor. And then there were the dramatic changes of expression! Yes, Suzan, the bit about coming out of the trunk as a kootchie-girl clown was hysterical. Great to see Rob so able to laugh at himself.

I know what he has to do: star in a movie that doesn't make money.

Check his bio, I think there's a few. But the best may be Remember Me. If anyone hasn't seen it, do - not only is Rob really, really great in it, but the whole movie is great. Rent it, though, because you may need to watch it twice. The ending literally felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach.