Every circus has a story.

This is the premise behind “Water for Elephants”, a beautiful film now in theatres starring a smiling (for once) Robert Pattinson (of Twilight fame), a shining Reese Witherspoon (ten years his senior), and a scheming Christoph Waltz (as scary as a man in breeches can be, which is pretty dang scary).

In the film, Jacob (Pattinson), an Ivy League veterinary student in depression-era America, loses his parents and home on the eve of his final exams at Cornell and hops a train in search of work.

However, he discovers in the morning that the train he’s on is no ordinary freighter; instead, it carries the traveling Benzini Brothers Circus. Jacob uses his veterinary knowledge to find favor with the controlling ringleader and owner, August (Waltz), and his beautiful wife and star attraction, Marlena (Witherspoon).

Jacob is charged with a task he probably didn’t encounter in vet school: caring for Rosie the elephant, August’s newest acquisition, whom August hopes to incorporate into Marlena’s animal-riding routine. When Rosie’s first show goes horribly wrong, however, August’s true character is revealed and life at the circus for both Jacob and Marlena becomes dangerous.

The film is every sepia-toned, feathered and sparkled, vintage dream of cinematography come true; it’s a period piece in the emphasis on impeccable costuming, jazzy music and references to the Prohibition.

However, these idealized scenes of a bygone-era are juxtaposed with gritty scenes of sweat, blood and tears; Marlena may wear feathers and sequins, but her hands and legs are bruised from her hard work with the show horses she rides; Benzini may put on an unbelievable show under the big top, but manure has to be shoveled and fires have to be stoked by sweaty faceless men who share none of the glory and rank below performers in circus hierarchy.

What gives “Water for Elephants” its appeal is its two dimensions: it illustrates all the facets of the circus and the motley crew that make up Benzini underneath the façade that the circus puts up for its eager audience.

Watching the film, I too became caught up in the circus world. I accepted its high stakes, its rules, watched its domestic dramas and cried when Rosie was brutally beaten.

Although “Water for Elephants” is excellently acted with an engaging cast of characters, danger, and a beautiful love story, the true star of the movie, if not Rosie, is the circus itself.