I’m a little surprised Richard LaGravenese didn’t do a little more with his adaptation of the novel Water for Elephants for the screen.  I mean, after all, look what he did to improve the treacly Bridges of Madison County, which he turned into a pretty decent film.  LaGravenese is known for his skill with adaptations.

I read the novel, which was an entertaining page-turner, but the film lacks drama until the very end, which feels truncated.  The basic story centers around a student of veterinary medicine in 1931 who leaves school without completing his final exam after a family trauma and ends up joining a circus where he cares for the animals and falls in love with the cruel circus owner’s beautiful, young wife.

So far, so good, but for a story like this to work in the movies, the chemistry between the leads – played by Robert Pattinson (best known for the Twilight series) and Reese Witherspoon – needs to ignite the screen.  In Water for Elephants, it’s more fizzle than sizzle.

Too bad, because it’s clear Reese Witherspoon can smolder under the right circumstances.  Remember her opposite Joaquin Phoenix in the Johnny Cash biopic directed by James Mangold six years ago?  It was hotter than a pepper sprout.  No kidding.  In fact, just skip Water for Elephants and watch Walk the Line again.  That’s what I should have done.