It's a pity that Robert Pattinson didn't show his talent in the film, and it even felt like a step backwards from his previous work "Remember Me". This is also a very puzzling thing. The character Jacob he interprets lost his parents at a critical moment in his life, his property was mortgaged to the bank, and he was forced to embark on a path of exile. After picking up the train and encountering the circus, after the food and clothing can be solved, he decides to dedicate his life to this cause. The ill-fated life situation, the cruel and ruthless background of the times, and the complicated worldly customs, all these extremely dynamic elements are piled together, and the contradictions and conflicts of the drama and the breakthrough of the acting skills are supposed to be easy to come by. But why is he acting more and more "low-key", and getting more and more dull in the end. He and Reese Witherspoon played against each other, the main love melody, at least half the time, and even a little bit of eagerness and desire to have it are hard to find. The only brilliant part was his first confrontation with the circus owner August, and the obscure stage fright and rebelliousness of the fledgling burst out in a short time. If we all grasp the charm of the characters in this way, then the sense of substitution and resonance in "Elephant Tears" is bound to be much stronger.
Several characters in the film were more distinctive and prominent under the Great Depression at that time. I don't know if it was the director's intention, or the drunkard's intention was not the drink. The more he portrayed the tyrannical, fickle, and indifferent nature of the circus owner, August, the more acceptable and sympathetic the character was. "The day does not understand the darkness of the night", here is the most helpless and perfect cry. Christopher Waltz has completely pinpointed the characters precisely, and the whole set of living contradictions is quite in place. At first glance, Augst's dehumanization, whether towards people or animals, is a high-profile capitalist who does his best to squeeze the oil and water he can get, and then cross the river and demolish the bridge without hesitation. On the surface, it also looks like a savior of the Bodhisattva. This is also August in the eyes of the very silly and naive Jacob. In fact, Augst is the creator of all this. Although the circus was small, at least he provided them with a loving and warm place under the circumstances of countless people being displaced and separated from their wives and families at that time.” Family". In extraordinary times, it is natural to look at it with extraordinary values. On the one hand, Augst has no love for animals, and his methods of taming animals are simple and rude, and he has no humanistic concern, which is true. But on his shoulders was a vast empire, without him everything would collapse. He is not Jacob, a young literary and artistic young man who is idle all day. The trend of sentiment and feelings can only make people weaker and incompetent in difficult situations. On the other hand, Augst treats people like a murderous tyrant, and once it loses its value, he secretly discards it and leaves it to fend for itself. However, under the background of the times at that time, I don't know how many people die every day because of starvation. The operation of the circus is difficult, and one more worthless person is not just an extra mouth to eat, but it is very likely that many valuable people will be lost because of the resources consumed by this mouth. This is like, without the brutal elimination law of survival of the fittest, there would be no Spartan 300 warriors. Aren't the Spartans more beasts than Augst? In addition, August is able to appoint people on merit, good at motivating his subordinates, and even design rehearsal programs. He can be regarded as dedicating his most ardent life to the circus. Capitalists are worlds apart.
The more I sympathize with August, the more I feel that Jacob and Rose are ungrateful and that they are not blessed in their blessings. In fact, the director also realized that there are differences in the characterization of this character, Jacob had such a psychological line after August's calm, "I can't leave, I want to protect Rosie and Rose, August His nature will soon be revealed..." This almost paranoid, childish logic is ridiculous and speechless. I could have shown Jacob's happy and hard life in the circus to the fullest, but now he is completely blinded by "love", and the inspirational effect is naturally greatly reduced. Furthermore, the biggest flaw in the film is that the hero and heroine's feelings for Rosie the Elephant are too bland. Since the title of the film is "Elephant's Tears", of course it has an extended meaning, but the most simple human-elephant affection can't be stopped like this. "Elephant Tears" has sounded the alarm for many Hollywood stars, and it is not enough to have a face or a successful role. Improving acting skills is the king of sustainable development.
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