Water for Elephants-Teen Movie Review
Twilight fans may get a little confused because our favorite vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) is now Jacob. No, he didn’t switch teams, and this is not Twilight. Now Robert Pattinson plays Jacob Jankowski, a young veterinary school student during the depression, in 1931. He’s just about to take his final exam at Cornell University, when he’s suddenly informed that his parents had just died in a car crash, and that the bank owns everything. So Jacob leaves his home, doesn’t take his final exam, and he jumps on a freight train that changes his life for ever. This train belongs to the owners of Benzini Bros. Circus; just where a vet student on the run is meant to land. Now Jacob gets a job with the circus, falls in love with the circus owners wife, Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), and bonds with the special circus elephant, Rosie. This sounds like a romantic love story, which it is, however there’s a lot of drama, violence and suspense in this wonderful movie; which is based on the acclaimed bestseller, Water For Elephants.
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Rating: Four out of five buckets
Release Date: November 1, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 13+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Talking Points
The owner of the train, August (Christoph Waltz), was an abusive, dangerous man. He abused the animals, his employees, and his beautiful wife, Marlena. However, Jacob’s character was very likable, he’s a kindhearted man, who truly cares for the animals well-being, and the employees of the circus. He stood for what he believed in, and almost risked his life. Oh, he’s not hard to look at either!
This was a well done movie, with wonderful characters and an unusual subject matter. From the clothes, to the 1930’s music, it was very interesting to see a traveling circus in the depression era. It was much different from the modern love stories in the theaters today.
While I loved the book, and the movie, there were some things that parents may feel uncomfortable with. This may not be the right movie for the tween girls, who only want to see Robert Pattinson. The content listed below are some reasons why:
Sexual Content: Moderate
• Jacob and Marlena have an affair; we see them in a hotel room, and it’s implied they’re having a sexual encounter. Though Jacob rescues her from an abusive relationship, she is still a married women. Something that could spark a parent/child conversation.
• Circus performers talk about some sexual situations that they had been in.
• One circus girl performed a striptease act for all the men involved in the circus. We only see her back, but it’s implied that she’s topless. She also fondles Jacob and wants to be with him.
Violent Content: Excessive and Disturbing
The movie has many violent and disturbing scenes:
• August, the owner, went from being a nice, happy, lovable guy, to an evil person at any given moment. His mood swings were creepy and scary. He abused Rosie the elephant with his bull hook, while viciously jabbing him.
• August abused his wife Marlena, this was disturbing to see, which may scare some kids.
• When August doesn’t have enough money to pay his employees, he throws them out of the moving train. We see two dead men who were thrown out onto rocks near the track.
Crude/Profane Language: Mild
• I was so focused on the violence that I only noticed a small amount of profanity. Words such as; the s-word, d-word and the a-word.
Water for Elephants was a wonderful book and movie. I loved the storyline with the drama and suspense, and the romantic aspect of it. However, I review movies on whether they are appropriate for kids; I would not recommend this movie for kids under 13. I think even some older teens may feel uncomfortable with the subject matter.
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