‘Elephants’ holds its weight in theaters

In spite of his most recent film "Water for Elephants," Robert Pattinson still leaves audience members drawing connections to his previous acting jobs.

Pattinson plays the role of Jacob Janikowski, a veterinary student who, following the death of his parents, drops out and — as cliché as it sounds — runs away and joins a traveling circus.

While working for the Benzini Brothers Travelling Circus, Janikowski meets and falls in love with star performer Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), whose husband, August (Cristoph Waltz), is the ring leader of the second-rate circus.

In addition, Janikowski is put in charge of training the new act: Rosie, a 58-year-old elephant who is deemed untrainable.

Although this is one of Pattinson's best performances as a lead role, he struggles to shake his Edward Cullen association, ultimately making Janikowski's character unbelievable for the first half hour of the film. His rather confusing looks and awkward smirks hurt the film.

Waltz proves he deserved the Oscar for his role in "Inglorious Bastards." He portrays the twisted, witty and dark ring leader to almost eerie proportions. His presence on screen is always noted and his sadistic character when abusing Marlena and the animals help keep the film in drive.

The chemistry between Pattinson and Academy Award-winning actress Witherspoon was forced. The duo danced around each other for a majority of the film taking well over an hour for them to kiss to occur.

The film is told as a memoir of an older version of Janikowski (Hal Holbrook), who is looking back to his circus life during the Great Depression. The costume and set designers did a good job in portraying the era and giving the audience a sense of what it was like living in the 1930s and working at a circus.

In addition to costumes and sets, the editors and camera crews should be recognized for their work. Scenery shots mixed with a variety of long range and close up shots help the atmosphere of the film.

"Water for Elephants" has a run time of approximately two hours. The problem with that is it takes the first 90 or so to set up the conflict, which allows the final segment to move quickly.

The film is based on the New York Times best-selling novel of the same title, written by Sara Gruen during National Novel Writing Month, an internet-based creative writing contest held November.

Director Francis Lawrence has matured from directing "Constantine" and "I am Legend." It is almost a shock knowing he was the same director as the sci-fi apocalyptic featuring Keanu Reeves.

"Water for Elephants" addresses issues such as animal cruelty and negative reinforcement by comparing Janikowski's reward-based training to August's abusive, tough teaching methods - a lesson any pet owner should keep in mind.

The love story and the cinematography helps keep the audience stay in their seats, making this a solid date movie.

So long as Pattinson avoids a pale, glittery complexion, expect an improvement in his acting career.