Thursday, November 3, 2011

"Water For Elephants" Twice

The book, a NY TIMES bestseller, was fantastic. A well crafted, beautiful story of human nature - the good, the bad and the ugly - it's set against a backdrop of circus life. In flashback, it took place during the Depression Era in upstate New York, with constant mention of familiar places.

The movie, though not an Oscar winner, translated pretty well to the big screen, with Robert Pattinson ("Twilight") as young Jacob and Hal Holbrook as his senior version and narrator. Reese Witherspoon, Christopher Waltz, Jim Norton and Paul Schneider rounded out the human cast, while Tai The Elephant played in the starring role of Rosie. Animal lovers will be pained by many issues raised, but joyful in a few solutions.

Highly recommended reading, for sure, with the movie to follow.