'Water for Elephants' Preview

On April 22, Water for Elephants parades into our nation’s multiplexes. Based on Sara Gruen’s wonderful novel, this film boasts a star-studded cast including Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz. If ever a book cried out for filming, it’s this one. In fact, not since my husband and I read the first Harry Potter book have we been so eager to see the movie version of an author’s work. We were not disappointed with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone -- and we hope the film treatment of Water for Elephants does justice to this exciting and romantic story set in the circus world of the 1930s.

The story contains lots of cinematic potential, especially considering its colorful characters -- including a brave and long-suffering elephant named Rosie -- as well as suspenseful situations in the big tent and on trains as the circus travels from town to town. Pattinson (the guy from “Twilight” movies) portrays Jacob, a young veterinarian student who drops out of college after his parents die in a tragic accident. When Jacob finds himself signed on as a circus veterinarian, he falls deeply in love with Marlena (Witherspoon), the gorgeous lady who performs with the circus horses. Marlena’s sadistic hubby (Waltz, the ruthless Nazi colonel in Inglorious Basterds ) stands in the way of true love, so the plot thickens.

Be sure to mark your calendar for Water for Elephants. It’s probably the kind of film you must see on the big screen.

Thanks to Nikki Starr for recommending Sara Gruen's book to me -- and to Diana Saenger for mentioning it on our Movie Addict Headquarters "Page to Screen" episode.