Water for Elephants

Rating: 7
Genre: Adult Drama
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz, Hal Holbrook

Holbrook opens the movie and closes it as he turns back the clock to tell about his experiences as a young man (Pattinson) in the circus culture of the early years of the 1930's Depression. Pattinson is a veterinary student at Cornell when he learns of the death of both of his parents in an auto accident. Homeless, he takes to the railroad tracks, jumps on a rail car and finds himself among a crow of circus roughnecks headed for the next stand. The story revolves around his relationship with the thuggish circus owner and his young wife (Witherspoon.)

Another important character is an aging elephant brought in to hype lagging attendance. Some developments are not easy to believe, but the movie is entertaining.