Water for Elephants

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Water for Elephants

PG-13

Released Apr 22, 2011

2h 1m

Drama

Romance

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60%

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196 Reviews

70%

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50,000+ Ratings

Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson), a veterinary student, is close to graduating when a terrible tragedy forces him to leave school. With nowhere else to go, he hops on a passing train and finds it belongs to a traveling circus. Jacob takes a job as an animal caretaker and meets Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), a beautiful circus performer. Their shared compassion for a special elephant named Rosie leads to love, but August (Christoph Waltz), Marlena's cruel husband, stands in their way.

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Critics Consensus

It's a tale tastefully told and beautifully filmed, but Water for Elephants suffers from a pronounced lack of chemistry between its leads.

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Rated: B

Feb 18, 2012

Full Review

Leah Rozen

TheWrap

Supporting characters are too hastily sketched in, serving only to further the unsmooth course of true love.

Oct 7, 2011

Full Review

Jim Schembri

The Age (Australia)

There's no doubting the luscious detail and feel for the period, but the love triangle that inevitable kicks in is a little too rote, even for those in a forgiving mood.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jun 16, 2011

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

With a bit more style and realism, the film could have been something truly great; however, in this case, good is just good enough.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 31, 2023

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Withered and boorish. [Full review in Spanish]

Oct 11, 2022

Full Review

Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

In this film, LaGravenese squeezes the melodrama so well that you may feel like you just had your mouth washed out with soap.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 8, 2022

Full Review

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Dulce P

I love this movie. Robert is incredible so is Reese and Christophor. I loveeeeeeeeee the acting and the scenes. It is my favorite movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/15/25

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Jay C

Great movie, just watched it today for the first time, highly recommend.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/20/24

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Julian Rex M

It doesn't have as much on its mind as a film with this scope should and would've benefited from a lack of Reese Witherspoon's rote chemistry and uninteresting rendering of her character, but Water for Elephants' spectacular cinematography and masterful direction manage to mostly carry this film to a satisfying–if almost wholly forgettable–conclusion.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/23/24

Full Review

Cfunk D

I find it to be an enjoyable movie. Reese Witherspoon doesn't play romantic role well. The message is great and entertaining movie. Love the circus and great depression mix. I never read the book so I won't give a low rating just because "the book was better" lol

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/06/24

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Jason S

Book was much better!!!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/06/24

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Jelisije J

An enjoyable romantic that is shot beautifully with amazing costumes and set designs, but lacks the greatness of a true romantic classic.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/30/24

Full Review

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Francis Lawrence

Director

Reese Witherspoon

Marlena

Robert Pattinson

Jacob

Christoph Waltz

August

Paul Schneider

Charlie

Jim Norton

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Critics Consensus: Water for Elephants Is A Little Soapy

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Synopsis

Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson), a veterinary student, is close to graduating when a terrible tragedy forces him to leave school. With nowhere else to go, he hops on a passing train and finds it belongs to a traveling circus. Jacob takes a job as an animal caretaker and meets Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), a beautiful circus performer. Their shared compassion for a special elephant named Rosie leads to love, but August (Christoph Waltz), Marlena's cruel husband, stands in their way.

Director: Francis Lawrence
Producer: Gil Netter, Erwin Stoff, Andrew R. Tennenbaum
Screenwriter: Richard LaGravenese, Sara Gruen
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Flashpoint, Gil Netter, 3 Arts Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Sexual Content|Moments of Intense Violence)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 22, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $58.7M
Runtime: 2h 1m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, Datasat
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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