Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, and Christoph Waltz star in this adaptation from a best selling novel about a Circus owner in the 1930's his beautiful wife and the young stranger who joins the troop. It's a straightforward story about a woman who's with a man who doesn't treat her right and the drive for freedom. It's a bit more interesting because of the circus element and the animals involved.
The movie begins well with a modern day Pattinson (at like 95 years old) telling the story in flashback. Once the actual story begins it moves quite slowly. They have to build up Waltz's character as an angry-tempered villain. The depiction of animal abuse was bad enough, I nearly walked out of the theater - not an easy one for people who love animals.
Pattinson and Witherspoon have very little chemistry on screen and Witherspoon's character is a bit shallow. She looks the part (I can't think of anyone else who looks it as well as she does), but I'm not sure she had the right feel. Waltz was spectacular. It's a shame the US audience has missed out on his talents until last year.
In the end, I thought I'd regret seeing the movie, but they finished it so well, all of my complaints seemed trivial in light of how much I enjoyed it. There's no real depth of message, other than standing up for what you believe is right. It's not exactly a think piece, but it's shot beautifully and well-acted for the most part. There's lots of great animals and a mostly engaging story.
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Originally Posted by Shea Zellweger
