Water for Elephants is a sharp looking and acted classic romantic tale that is hampered by a pretty awful script that feels like we are missing large chunks of the story.

The film opens in the present day with an old man named Jacob lost at the circus as his son has failed to meet him there.  Jacob heads inside with the circus manager to help him find his way home when they begin to discuss Jacob’s background in the circus.  Flash back to depression era America where we see Jacob about to graduate from vet school at Cornell when a family tragedy leads him onto the rail road tracks looking for a new direction in life.  Stowing on the first train he sees, Jacob finds himself on the Benzini Brothers Circus transport and is quickly thrust into a job shoveling dung in trade for a night on the train.  When introduced to the ringmaster, August, Jacob reveals his veterinary background as he is about to be escorted off the train and is immediately taken under August’s wing as a smart and decent friend to have around the circus.  Jacob and August’s relationship becomes a complex one as Jacob is introduced to shady ways of the circus and as Jacob and August’s wife, Marlena grow closer.

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