A retired veterinarian, who worked in the circus all of his life, recalls his past in the early 1930s when the circus was going from town to town by train during the Depression and hard times. The circus owner (Christoph Waltz) was a man of strong character who would have bouts of violence in which he would not only hurt animals but humans. The owner was married to a beautiful young woman (Reese Witherspoon) who falls in love with the now-older storyteller (Hal Holbrook), which leads to violence and murder. The film has many good moments of emotion with the younger character played by Robert Pattinson, who is kind to both animals and humans, including all the interesting characters that you would find in a circus in those days. You get to meet many of these characters in the film. This film has one stupid sex scene, which was needless and ruins it for a PG-13 audience.
~Gabriel of Urantia*MPAA = Motion Picture Association of America
*4DFR = An alternative, 4th-Dimensional, rating is supplied by the author of this review
