Review of Elephant (1993) by John E — 01 Jul 2011

Elephant is a film set in a suburban high school and follows the lives of several students from various backgrounds. The film takes bits and parts of one day following various students through their day and then all comes to the climax revolved around a school shooting. The direction was excellent as was the script, which looked beyond the typical following of just one group of people and branched out into all of them. The acting taken at value is about as good as it was expected to be, as they tried to fit their roles well which worked at time and at times failed. Despite the lower levels of acting, the overall aspects still combined to make a decent film.

The direction by Gus Van Sant (Gerry) was very good. He was able to get the most out of his young, unknown acting crew. His ability to find actors to fit their roles with great is something that Van Sant fans have grown accustomed to and it is something that all of his films seem to possess. This film is no different because of how the actors presented their characters. Van Sant's idea here was a good one and it was presented in a way that allowed the viewer to see the complete idea of high school, from special education students to the prestigious popular kids and cliques of every variety. This picture he had in his mind was a good one and it translated well into film although his direction wasn't the problem.

The script for the film, also written by Van Sant (Gerry) was good on the basis that the audience was allowed to see every aspect of high school. The problem with the script was that it seemed to drag on at points and was almost at a standstill at certain points where the viewer felt like they had seen too much of the lives of these kids. It was like seeing the same thing over and over during the same film because the kid's lives were so meshed together, it was almost detrimental to do the film because it was so repetitive and while the detail was nice, it would have been better to perhaps add in another perspective. I do not question Van Sant's artistic style because that was fine, but it can only so detailed before it starts dragging into boredom.

The acting in the film was good but it was about the level a viewer might expect from the unknown actors that were in the film. While there was no standout, the main cast that was followed by did a good job. Alex Frost (film debut) did an alright job as the lead killer who was emotionally detached from everything and everyone because of constantly being berated at school. He fit the role well as he was able to tap into a character that had been tortured for being different. While this role was a good starting point, he needs to show in the future his ability to connect with a character with emotions to have a future as an actor. John Robinson (film debut) did a decent job but failed to show true emotion during scenes that required it and made it hard to believe his character had the feeling necessary to attach the viewer to his role. Without this emotional connection, there was nothing past a superficial level with him and would cause the viewer to think that he was less than genuine in his role. He started off well but then faded quickly as his role required the emotions of his character to take over, which was somewhat disappointing. Elias McConnell (film debut) did a decent job as the odd photography student who just wanted to take pictures of others in their natural habitat. He seemed to fit his role well but there was nothing to the character beyond photography which made it puzzling as to why he was a main character. He still filled the role that seemed sufficient enough for the viewer to make a decent connection with the type of kid who only lives for the art of life. The actors in general combined very well and there are so many that combined to make a decent ensemble, group effort. They also had a good way about each other and were able to create a good feeling with the audience, making the feeling of high school real. This was important because this is the world of high school students. Without this feeling, the importance of the film would have been lost amidst the poor acting abilities of the crew.

Elephant follows the life of students in high school and attempts to show the different cliques of high school life in the current suburbs of American schools. Ranging from the preppy girls to the nerdy loner, the actions range from the simply boring to the ultimate extreme. The overall concept is a good one but still leaves the viewer craving more than what was given. This is not to say it is a totally incomplete story, but there were questions left unanswered by the time the credits rolled. The direction was good, but the script lacked in some places and the acting could have been a tad more professional than it was considering the matter at hand. While Van Sant has my complete respect, I am sorry to say this is one of his films that came up short for his audience.