LOS ANGELES:
Reese Witherspoon can flip over backward on her latest co–star, who in turn can either hoist her in the air or crush her.
We’re not talking about either Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson or Inglorious Bastards’ villain Christoph Waltz, her co-stars in the new romantic drama Water for Elephants.
But rather, Tai, a 42–year–old, 1,900kg pachyderm at the centre of a dangerous Depression–era love triangle involving a beautiful circus performer, her brutal husband and a dashing young man.
Water for Elephants, Witherspoon’s first film since the disappointing Christmas film How Do You Know, opens on Friday across North America. The movie required the actor to become an instant expert at elephant acrobatics while wearing sequined leotards and elegant gowns.
“These are skills that people develop through years and years of training, and I had to condense that into five months,” the Nashville–raised actor said. “But it was really rewarding.”
Witherspoon joked that one of her greatest accomplishments was learning how to step on Tai’s trunk and hurdle herself on top of the eight–foot, eight–inch (2.6 metres) animal.
Tai, a veteran of movies and commercials, had to stretch her own acting skills by pretending to be untrained. She evidently reached a deeper level of familiarity with Witherspoon than with her other human co–stars.
“It’s like a dog in that they know your smell,” Witherspoon said. “They remember your scent and so, she smells you every morning and she’s like, ‘Oh, I know that person.’”
Water for Elephants, based on Sara Gruen’s 2006 best–selling novel of the same name, stars Pattinson, as a veterinary student named Jacob who abandons his studies and joins a travelling circus. He meets Witherspoon’s character, Marlena, who is inconveniently married to the brutal animal trainer August, played by Waltz.
When August buys an untrained elephant named Rosie, Jacob is put in charge. He soon develops a special bond with the animal and then with Marlena, who must learn to ride it. When romantic sparks start to fly, life gets dangerous.
Things are happier for Oscar–winning Witherspoon in real life. Last month, she married talent agent Jim Toth at her California ranch, as Sean Penn, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Tobey Maguire and Renee Zellweger looked on.
Witherspoon started shooting Water for Elephants a few months after meeting Toth last year and marvelled at how her uneducated movie character overcomes the odds and finds true love.
“Some of the most beautiful scenes are the ones that have no words — moments where my character is noticing Rob, or Christoph’s character seeing us across the room. It just tells you so much about the story without saying a word,” she said.
The movie also sheds light on animal abuse, and karmic retribution. Tai, fortunately, leads a comfortable life on a California ranch alongside five other elephants waiting for their next Hollywood close–up.
“Hopefully, this movie will create compassion for different elephant charities, that we really have to protect animals in this world,” Witherspoon said. “They’re very complex, thoughtful creatures and they deserve our attention.”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ