The movie is coming out April 22.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book; I have been a fan of the author, Sara Gruen, since her first book, ‘Riding Lessons’… it still remains my favorite of her writing.
I am looking forward to seeing ‘Water’ Anyone else read it and planning to see the movie?
I first heard of the movie in People (I think) and I never knew there was a novel! I really want to see it, but I think I’ll read it first.
Oh DO read it! Ms Gruen has a very conversational way of writing that just draws me in… I get to know her characters like old friends, and as a bonus to me, the animals in the stories are not just props, but actual characters with personalities of their own.
I highly recommend her.
I am looking forward to it - thought the novel was very well done (and gives me hope since I think the author does NanoWriMo!) Not sure I like Edward as the lead role… I might keep expecting fangs to appear, which could be disconcerting.
I enjoyed the book. I won’t go out of my way to see the movie though simply because of the casting of the female lead. I don’t dislike Reese, I usually enjoy her movies, but she is just so not who I pictured in this role.
I loved Water for Elephants, but could not get into Riding Lessons. I may see it, but I don’t care so much for Pattinson. 
I don’t care for Pattinson either, but still anxious to see the movie.
As to not caring for ‘Riding Lessons’, I can see where it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. I enjoyed it so because the author’s love of horses shone thru so brightly while still keeping the human characters at center. Now, the sequal called ‘Changing Leads’ I was not so crazy about, it had too much of a Disney-eque relationship between the daughter and a horse.
Her new book is called ‘Ape house’, about a researcher and a group of bonobos. I am not a real fan of monkeys/apes, but we’ll see…
I saw an early screening; my reaction was pretty much “meh”. There were some beautifully shot scenes, and anyone with a nostalgia for old timey circuses might enjoy it. But Patterson was not very good, and there were NO sparks between him and Reese (who I like and who did a decent job). I have not read the book, but my friend said they left a lot out. Overall I’d give it **/****.
ETA: In case I gave the wrong impression, it was certainly not terrible or a flop. I wasn’t looking at my watch the whole time. It just wasn’t particularly memorable. Fans of the book might get a lot more out of it.
My favourite part of the story was his nursing home musings about growing old, I have a hard time imagining how they’ll portray that in a movie. However, the circus part of the book should translate well visually. Reese Witherspoon is way too old to be cast as Marlena, in the book she was in her early 20s.
Yes, I’m very much looking forward to it. I wish the promos would give more attention to Christoph Waltz; now there’s perfect casting.
I never read the book and saw the film yesterday.
A few questions:
If he only had one final exam to become a vet, why didn’t he go back and take it before high-tailing it out of town after that accident? Seems very stupid to do at that point.
Also, who exactly opened the cages to the animals in the grand finale? Seems another stupid idea to get back at that ringmaster - endangering everyone else’s life.
The film was good, but Patterson was pretty horrible - I think he took acting lessons from Keanu Reeves: “Stand, speak, walk.” There was not one minute where I believed he was in character, and all he did was speak the lines.
PERFECT timing, I just went to see it today and was actually going to bump this thread up.
I have to agree-Pattinson SUCKED in what could have been an excellent movie. his 'acting-and I use the term loosely- was horrid. He had one expression with an occasional smile. He seemed uncomfortable working around the animals, but so did Reece, which was a real mood-killer for me. She was supposed to live and breathe these animals. And yt she looked as if she would rather they kept their distance. August however, was perfectly cast, totally believable.
I hope this spoiler box works- never used one before. If not, you may want to skip the last few paragraphs…
[spoiler] I agree that it was really stupid to endanger everyone by releasing the animals, and honestly I don’t remember it being well-explained in the book, either. I think the gist of it was that the circus world had their own set of laws to live (and die) by and whoever got hurt in the process… too bad, so sad. It was 2 of August’s cohorts that opened the cages, and their names escape me at this time.
As to why Jacob didn’t finish his exams, I may be mis-remembering this, it’s been a good while since reading it, but it seems to me he still owed some small fee or another and did not have it to pay. Could be wrong about that-it wouldn’t be the first time. 
And he was so diswraught over his parents’ deaths he also pretty much acted without thinking. [/spoiler]