Elephant review

ELEPHANT (2003) / ***

Directed by Gus Van Sant, from his screenplay. Starring Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson. Running time: 81 minutes. Rated AA by the MFCB. Reviewed on February 3rd, 2004.

By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN

Synopsis: It's a normal school day. John (Robinson) is late because his father is drunk behind the wheel of their car. Photography buff Eli (Elias McConnell) stops to snap a couple he meets en route to school. Jordan (Jordan Taylor) and her friends eat lunch, then purge themselves in the washroom. Solitary Michelle (Kristen Hicks) keeps to herself in the girls' locker room after gym class. Then Alex (Frost) and Eric (Deulen) arrive at school. And the shooting starts.

Review: "Elephant" is to film what still life is to painted art, and that's both its blessing and its curse. Put more simply, "Elephant" is what it is, nothing more, nothing less; and what it is simply a depiction of a school day which ends in appalling violence. There's no effort to explain why the teenage killers commit such heinous atrocities, though Van Sant noncommittally nods to many of the usual theories (they are seen playing violent videogames, and one is criminally picked on in class). Nor is there really an attempt to establish some sort of redeeming parable amongst the carnage: some students die, some don't, but there's nothing particularly poetic about who falls into which category. So "Elephant" feels at once like a very realistic portrayal of a day not unlike the Columbine massacre (an impression further reinforced by Van Sant's cast of unknown actors, most of give very good, naturalistic performances). But it also feels somewhat clinical and voyeuristic. Having already heard all the accounts and analysis of Columbine, is there really anything to be gained by watching a close simulation thereof without the experience imparting something more to the audience? I'm not sure, and I imagine it will be up to each viewer individually to determine whether "Elephant" is transcendent art, or a rather disturbingly failed experiment.

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X-RT-RatingText: 3/4

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Elephant (2003)

Review of Elephant (2003) by Shannon Patrick Sullivan