Last week, ScriptShadow posted a really great review of the Water for Elephants script. Keep in mind, if you haven’t read the book or the script yet this will be chock full of spoilers so avoid if you’re trying to keep your WFE virginity.

As a 22 year old in the 30s, Jacob had everything a young man could possibly desire. His two loving parents were veterinarians and he’d just graduated from an Ivy-League school. Despite it being the Depression, he had the pick of any job he pleased. And then, in an unexpected tragedy, his parents died in a car accident. The confused Jacob’s world comes crashing down on him. Unsure what to do or where to go, he runs. He doesn’t care where. As long as it’s away. Figuring he’ll hitch a train ride to somewhere far away from here, Jacob leaps into a random boxcar, prepared for a long journey. But he quickly realizes this isn’t just any train. This is The Benzini Bros. Traveling Circus.

Rob as Jacob...TEAM JACOB?!

Read an excerpt from the review after the jump…

This script rocked me. I mean it was just so good. I haven’t read characters this rich or alive since The Brigands of Rattleborge. We feel Jacob’s pain and desperation after losing his parents. We feel Marlena’s perception of her worthlessness. We feel the pure evil inside of August. And yet each of these characters has an additional, almost opposite, layer that provides a depth we don’t usually see in screenplays. Jacob’s purity is undermined by his attempts to lure a taken woman. Marlena loves August just as much as she hates him. And August plays the victim just as aggressively as he plays the dictator. These characters are so wonderfully crafted, they should be used in a screenwriting course.

This bodes well for the film and makes me very very very excited to see this piece brought to life!

To read the rest of this in-depth script review visit ScriptShadow.

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