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

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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

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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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Jay C

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

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/20/24

Full Review

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

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Daniel G

Classic melodrama, but a really well-told story with likeable protagonists in a unorthodox setting - circus life nowadays and in the Great Depression.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/01/24

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Francis Lawrence

Director

Reese Witherspoon

Marlena

Robert Pattinson

Jacob

Christoph Waltz

August

Paul Schneider

Charlie

Jim Norton

Camel

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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: 3 Arts Entertainment, Flashpoint, Gil Netter
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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