The show is savage. From the moment Jacob Jankowski accidentally joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, he is surrounded by the brutal and beatific in equal measure. Penniless and orphaned at the height of the Great Depression, Jacob is sucked into the world of the Benzini Brothers' tyrannical patriarch, Uncle Al, and his deranged second in command, August.
It's a rolling life on the rails. Boxcars, holding everything from ticket takers to tigers, travel the country, fleecing the destitute populace of their last dollar. Only one element is outlawed on board — bums. So when Jacob climbs aboard a random railcar, his life hangs in the balance. Confronted by a dirty brute named Blackie, Jacob's fate becomes forever tied to the old drunk who saves him, Camel.
Camel sees possibilities in the young stow-away. With mutterings of seeing Uncle Al come morning, a numb and dazed Jacob begins life at the bottom of the show as a "First of May."
Soon it's proved that Camel's instincts hold true. Jacob fled Cornell only weeks away from completing his studies in veterinary medicine; during a tense interview with Uncle Al and August, he's charged with the care of the circus' menagerie. At his inquisition, Jacob learns that his fate is tied to that of the horses he will care for. An Arabian is ill and if Jacob is unable to save the creature, his own existence may become forfeit.
Scrambling atop bulleting boxcars, Jacob is led by August to his new home. The stock car consists of prized Arabians, a redheaded dwarf named Kinko and his performing terrier, Queenie. Instant animosity erupts but is soon put aside at the entrance of Marlena. The Arabians are hers, and Jacob soon learns that their wellbeing means everything to their beautiful master.
As both August's wife and the premier equestrian performer, Marlena is afforded a degree of luxury that is foreign and envied by the working men of the Flying Squadron; whose back-breaking labor to set up and tear down the show is relied on and often taken for granted. Yet Marlena also shoulders a terrible burden, and Jacob is instantly captivated by her tragic blend of bravado and terror.
Told from the perspective of an old man struggling to separate his past from his present, Water for Elephants is a thrilling ride. And as the circus boxcars hurtle faster toward the next town, Jacob's rapidly unraveling world is fascinating to behold as he is caught between his desire to love and his desire to survive.
Grade: 4 out of 5