Drama/Thriller, Rated R.
Director: Gus Van Sant. 
Writer: Gus Van Sant. 
Cast: Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson.

“Elephant” is a fictional retelling of the real life murderous rampage that occurred on April 20, 1999 when two high school boys shot fellow students and faculty alike at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.  That day in April was an event that changed the way Americans looked at their children.  The movie “Elephant” disappointedly attempts to recreate that tragic day by statically following an array of students in their daily routines up to and during the point when the killings take place.

The movie is mostly cast with newcomers, instead of mainstream billboard names, to portray the stereotypical angst-ridden students of the fictitious school.  This lends “Elephant” a semi-real authenticity, along with showing these students trudging along, conversing in mundane dialogue as they mill about in the pre-killing daily activities.  The actors are neither good, nor bad, but rather just there, as the screenplay and direction lazily permit nothing more than the surface to be scratched on any one of them.  The back of one student’s head is endlessly followed by the next, in a series of long, tracking shots throughout the school, which end up being more annoying than artistic, especially when the events are told out of sequence and repeated by different points of view.  This is the style in which the story vignettes are sewn together, not that there’s much of an overall story to begin with.

Gus Van Sant (“Good Will Hunting,” “My Own Private Idaho”) directed “Elephant” from his original screenplay, which apparently allowed the actors to improvise the bulk of their scenes.  Van Sant seems to sit back, bucking conventional terms like plot and story-arc, and intentionally sits on the fence when it comes to providing a perspective or statement about violence.  He doesn’t pick out heroes or villains, he just allows the characters to exist, giving you no one to root for, giving you no one to care for.  It’s an interesting idea, but it doesn’t succeed.  And by filming one long uncut sequence after another, refusing to zoom in or tinker with camera angles, “Elephant” seemed more like an experimental student film than the work of a seasoned talent.  It meandered endlessly and aimlessly, and felt like it was never going to end, which is sad considering the film’s running time was only a slight 81 minutes. 

Bottom line.  Should you see “Elephant”?  Yes or No?  No.

Review by Chad Goldich.