# Water for Elephants Movie -SPOILERS



## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Liza, Edith and I went to see Water for Elephants today. Liza and I both read the book (I read it three years ago so kind of fuzzy on details :blink but Edith hadn't read it. 
I liked the movie. Thought they created the look and feel of the book and the grit of the traveling circus. I don't remember the book being quite so violent but I read it three years ago so don't remember a lot. Also I guess in reading you can downplay the violence you picture in your mind. It definitely held my attention and though Pattinson isn't the most expressive actor alive :HistericalSmiley: I kind of pictured that character being more of an observer and relater to all going on than the pivotal character. Overall, it held my interest and I loved the elephant. :wub::wub: 
Anxious to see what others thought.


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

It was great meeting up with Edith and finally meeting Sue , what wonderful ladies. I really enjoyed the movie, i just read the book and of course i like the book better but only because it had so much more , but i also guess thats what happens to all novels that make it to the screen , i loved "marlena" and i also loved "jacob" robert pattison , i felt the connection there , if u read the book i think u underestand why hes not much more into marlena. i loved all the animals and the elephant " rosie " was great. all in all i think the story was really beautiful but to those that havent read it , u should its much more special in writing.


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## yeagerbum (Apr 20, 2010)

uniquelovdolce said:


> It was great meeting up with Edith and finally meeting Sue , what wonderful ladies. I really enjoyed the movie, i just read the book and of course i like the book better but only because it had so much more , but i also guess thats what happens to all novels that make it to the screen , i loved "marlena" and i also loved "jacob" robert pattison , i felt the connection there , *if u read the book i think u underestand why hes not much more into marlena.* i loved all the animals and the elephant " rosie " was great. all in all i think the story was really beautiful but to those that havent read it , u should its much more special in writing.


Liza, I didn't read the book, can you explain that part?

I didn't feel that jacob had chemistry with marlena in the movie, when they were jumping off the train together, I felt unconvinced and wondered why she would jump off with him. and why did they spend a night in the hotel instead of running all night they looked much more in love in the photographs at the end than through their interactions hahaha! 

overall I felt this movie was average, beautiful setting and I loved the animals, but they could do better with the guy from the notebook


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

sara , the book had sooo much more , when they jumped off the train in the movie it was sooo different in the book , they took parts off , in the book it was soo different , she was mad at augusto for a while , there was also her uncle , they didnt put him in the movie , in the book he was the owner of the circus . i thought they followed the characters thoug cause in the book he tried to repress his feelings a bit. i think overall thats just the way robert pattison acts but i liked him , i loved the movie but i can guarantee u read the book n u will like it even better.


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## yeagerbum (Apr 20, 2010)

uniquelovdolce said:


> sara , the book had sooo much more , when they jumped off the train in the movie it was sooo different in the book , they took parts off , in the book it was soo different , she was mad at augusto for a while , there was also her uncle , they didnt put him in the movie , in the book he was the owner of the circus . i thought they followed the characters thoug cause in the book he tried to repress his feelings a bit. i think overall thats just the way robert pattison acts but i liked him , i loved the movie but i can guarantee u read the book n u will like it even better.


thanks for the reassurance, Liza, I have no doubt the book has soo much more. I can understand why she was mad at augusto the sicko:angryloved the portrayal by christoph waltz though). was the ending the same in the book? it sounded sad on the wikipedia summary, where it ended by saying that none of her family members came to claim him. i liked the ending in the movie


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

I was disappointed in the way they began it. I felt the home he lived in and his son's absence was paramount to the emotional aspects of this man and his life. 
I also didn't feel Pattinson had the depth of the character down at all. It just wasn't there. I was so hoping the characters would show to be deeper as we got to know them so much better in the book. 
I did love the elephant and thought the animal release scene was AMAZINGLY real! 
I felt, unlike Sue, that the brutality of that time in history and the circus was not really portrayed as strongly as the book. 
Most of all, I wanted the first line from Jacob to be accurate and it was not. Can you tell I loved the book? LOL!

ETA: I also thought Hal Holbrook was outstanding! When those tears ran down his face it was the most touching part of the movie for me.


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## mysugarbears (Aug 13, 2007)

I liked the movie ok, but i loved the book and i absolutely adored Rosie. I don't think the chemistry between Robert Pattison and Reese Witherspoon had the spark that it should have had. I don't know about anyone else, but i bawled like a baby with some of the scenes were Rosie was involved...i think the whole theater heard me. 

Totally off topic, but did anyone see the previews for the movie "The Help" based on the book? It was a preview before "Water for Elephants" and it looks like a really good movie...can't wait until it comes out. I have the sample chapter downloaded on my kindle and am trying to hurry up and read "The Paris Wife" and then i have "Winterdance" to read that Joy sent to me so i can send it to Nida and then i'll read "The Help" i've heard it was a great book.


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

mysugarbears said:


> I liked the movie ok, but i loved the book and i absolutely adored Rosie. I don't think the chemistry between Robert Pattison and Reese Witherspoon had the spark that it should have had. I don't know about anyone else, but i bawled like a baby with some of the scenes were Rosie was involved...i think the whole theater heard me.
> 
> Totally off topic, but did anyone see the previews for the movie "The Help" based on the book? It was a preview before "Water for Elephants" and it looks like a really good movie...can't wait until it comes out. I have the sample chapter downloaded on my kindle and am trying to hurry up and read "The Paris Wife" and then i have "Winterdance" to read that Joy sent to me so i can send it to Nida and then i'll read "The Help" i've heard it was a great book.


Debbie - I feel like we saw previews for every other movie ever made, being made, thinking about being made, or just a few thrown in. A HALF HOUR OF MOVIE TRAILERS.:smpullhair::smpullhair: And believe it or not, "The Help" was not one of them. I do want to read that too. I'm in the middle of Unbroken now and by the time I'm done will probably get 
A Dog's Purpose" from Mary (no rush!!!). 
I agree that the book Water for Elephants was way better than the movie but sometimes I actually hate a movie being not at all true to a book. I didn't feel this way about WFE. What I loved the most were those early scenes of when the circus came to town, the hard work, the tents going up...I love that kind of detail.


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## Mini Pearls Mom (Mar 4, 2011)

mysugarbears said:


> I liked the movie ok, but i loved the book and i absolutely adored Rosie. I don't think the chemistry between Robert Pattison and Reese Witherspoon had the spark that it should have had. I don't know about anyone else, but i bawled like a baby with some of the scenes were Rosie was involved...i think the whole theater heard me.
> 
> Totally off topic, but did anyone see the previews for the movie "The Help" based on the book? It was a preview before "Water for Elephants" and it looks like a really good movie...can't wait until it comes out. I have the sample chapter downloaded on my kindle and am trying to hurry up and read "The Paris Wife" and then i have "Winterdance" to read that Joy sent to me so i can send it to Nida and then i'll read "The Help" i've heard it was a great book.


Saw the previews for THE HELP and was already disappointed, having read the book. Uh Oh.

As for WFE:mellow::
This movie soo reminded me of the old 1920's pre-talkies where the girl gets tied down to the tracks and at the last second is saved by the hero...I mean, the villianous August just needed a twirly mustache. And, they lived happily ever after....maybe it was all the train stuff that gave me that impression?

The book was far superior - I read it ages ago and the strongest sense of reading it that I kept was the love for all the animals. I don't believe that came across. I'd like to wear my curly hair like Reese's in this movie!!


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

i agree with this alot !! one of the main things about the book for me , apart from the love of animals , was the idea of getting old, themovie had absolutely nothing about that and to me that was such a main thing in the book , the home , how the mind plays tricks on u but you dont forget the essence and the realness of where you have come from and what you have lived, the other residents of the home and how he had to adapt to them , even though he wasnt sick just old , how he had all these children n they just placed him there , these are all things that got me thinking deep , the movie didnt have this.


Cosy said:


> I was disappointed in the way they began it. I felt the home he lived in and his son's absence was paramount to the emotional aspects of this man and his life.
> I also didn't feel Pattinson had the depth of the character down at all. It just wasn't there. I was so hoping the characters would show to be deeper as we got to know them so much better in the book.
> I did love the elephant and thought the animal release scene was AMAZINGLY real!
> I felt, unlike Sue, that the brutality of that time in history and the circus was not really portrayed as strongly as the book.
> ...


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

i heard from my co worker that it was an awesome book. I however didnt see the preview though , like sue said we saw previews about everything not that though.


mysugarbears said:


> I liked the movie ok, but i loved the book and i absolutely adored Rosie. I don't think the chemistry between Robert Pattison and Reese Witherspoon had the spark that it should have had. I don't know about anyone else, but i bawled like a baby with some of the scenes were Rosie was involved...i think the whole theater heard me.
> 
> Totally off topic, but did anyone see the previews for the movie "The Help" based on the book? It was a preview before "Water for Elephants" and it looks like a really good movie...can't wait until it comes out. I have the sample chapter downloaded on my kindle and am trying to hurry up and read "The Paris Wife" and then i have "Winterdance" to read that Joy sent to me so i can send it to Nida and then i'll read "The Help" i've heard it was a great book.


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

sarah the ending was more or less the same , him telling the story and at the end him staying in the circus , but in the book , they come in to get him , the police and the circus guy tells them that is his grandfather. like i said the book was just soo much more 


yeagerbum said:


> thanks for the reassurance, Liza, I have no doubt the book has soo much more. I can understand why she was mad at augusto the sicko:angryloved the portrayal by christoph waltz though). was the ending the same in the book? it sounded sad on the wikipedia summary, where it ended by saying that none of her family members came to claim him. i liked the ending in the movie


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

I saw the movie last night and actually really enjoyed it. I read the book A LONG time ago but don't remember much of it at all...just that I absolutely loved it. I actually thought Robert Pattinson was pretty good in the movie...I agree that he didn't portray the depth of the character fully but over all, I think he did well and also, that this era really, really looked good on him. However, I'm a fan of his from Twilight so I might be a bit biased:tender:hehehe!

Some of the scenes were extremely difficult to watch...I couldn't bear to actually watch them...covered my eyes and all. 

I thought the chemistry between Jacob and Rosie was apparent but can't say the same about Marlena and Jacob...until the very end. Over all, I really, really enjoyed the movie and want to read the book again.


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## Canada (Jun 4, 2009)

I saw this film opening night.
It was a pal's turn to pick the movie.
So we bought tickets and reading the title of it,
I saw it had the word elephant in it.
I asked my pal if that was a metaphor or if there was actual elephants in it.
She explained it was a book about a circus.
And I do recall seeing the name of that on SM.
I said I hoped no animals got hurt in the making of this film...

So the beginning of the movie started with promise and momentum.
Then it just went off the rails, with cliches, and scenes of implied animal abuse.

I was tempted to exit the film and have the money refunded at the box office, 
to avoid the funds going towards the makers.

BUT I thought, if I don't see it all how can I judge it more?
And what if the studio found a circus elephant in real life,
are shooting a few scenes, and then find a sanctuary for the elephant?

So after the end of the film,
I went home and googled that elephant right away.
Turns out the star is from a rent an elephant company.

I think the film should either have stayed a book,
or else made differently, more CGI and not renting a elephant.

If it was the intention to show cruelty to circus animals and thus promote (animal) circus boycotting, then why use a Rent An Elephant to make your point?

Overall, this film just made me sad.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

It was 1931, a young man, a circus (small) and an abusive manager who wanted success. I don't believe there was any underlying message to boycott anything.
This was a story.


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## Canada (Jun 4, 2009)

Cosy said:


> It was 1931, a young man, a circus (small) and an abusive manager who wanted success. I don't believe there was any underlying message to boycott anything.
> This was a story.


 
I agree with you, I was just hoping that was the message...
I must read into things, I suppose.
The scenes of (implied) animal cruelty were so sad
and I was questionning the director's intention on that.
It would have been nice if at the end they had
a link to help circus animals.


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