Welcome to the world's greatest extravaganza! Or maybe not. This potboiler based on Sara Gruen's novel of circus life in 1931 doesn't quite rate 3 rings. The actors are miscast (in particular Reese Witherspoon - although she makes a good attempt at portraying her bombshell character) The movie is beautifully shot but it falls prey to a plodding script which features a rather brutal and hurried ending. Pattinson and Witherspoon display little chemistry between them. But, as the master of brutality, Christoph Waltz provides a convincing portrait of a psychopath who is profoundly frightening when he unleashes his anger. The trained elephant, Rosie really steals her scenes. Think of this as a passeable time-waster. And there are precious few circus pictures produced.
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