Visually it's beautiful. The circus setting in the 30s, the costumes, the photography... all very polished. Christoph Waltz as the manipulative and violent circus owner eats up every scene he's in. But the love story between Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon doesn't quite ignite. [SPOILER] It's supposed to be a forbidden passion that risks everything, but the chemistry between them is lukewarm at best. The love triangle works more because of how scary Waltz is than because you want them to end up together. [/SPOILER] Rosie the elephant steals the movie, honestly. A pretty movie for an afternoon viewing, but it doesn't leave a mark.

Not sure why I didn't see this back when it came out, as I remember hearing generally good things about it. Perhaps it was my residual anti-twilight bias poisoning the well on Robert Pattison. But, having now distanced himself from that sparkly history with some excellent films like Good Time and The Batman, I went into this expecting good things and overall was not disappointed. I think the first two acts are stronger than the third, as the pacing starts to get a little rushed, but other than that I was quite impressed. Strong performances, good production design, and interesting characters.

great movie, beautifully shot. cute elephant, romance drama, evil vs good, mr pattinson. what else do you need? maybe kristen stewart or suki waterhouse? anyway ive been facinated by the circus culture. amazing vibe, interesting characters, go watch this one.