Review of Elephant (2003) by Jay R — 29 Jun 2010

The day came and went with shock and awe and no one understood what just happened in a matter of hours. The best part about Gus Van Sant's Elephant is that it doesn't even try to attempt and explain why this happened. The fact that there is no explanation is why Elephant is going to remain with you for a while when its over. Gus Van Sant has crafted a masterpiece of a show without tell. His tracking shots are mystifying as he follows certain characters around and we get to know about their lives. Sant never gets us into the depth of these characters and this emotional detachment will divide and even frustrate some viewers. This is the goal of Elephant. It just happened. As a group of high school students live their lives, two students plan to come into the school and kill as many as they can. This is clearly based off the Columbine shootings that happened in 1999. The shooting set off numerous issues like wildfire such as bullying, violent video games and new gun laws across the United States. Sant never even touches anything like that. According to a study of 37 school shootings over the past few years, studies have shown that these are sudden, jarring impulses and no one knew of the attacks before hand. Gus Van Sant has his masterpiece. Elephant is a film that will rattle you and leave you shaken at the thought that this can happen.

The cast is entirely unknowns which really brings to live this mere portrait of a normal high school that was shook by the hands of hell. This worked as well in Paul Greengrass's United 93. In both cases the outcome is known and the actors are unknown. There is no reliance of performance and no favourite celebrity to go and see. These films are shockingly real because they both depict events that transformed society as we know it. We cannot learn to plan for the worst until the worst actually happens. In both cases the worst happened. Paul Greengrass used handheld camera to place you as one of the passengers of that fateful flight. Gus Vant Sant just follows the characters around with a dolly, showing their lives. He tracks their progress through the day and never makes on character more significant than the other. When Van Sant changes gears to focus on the two antagonists, a brief snippet of insight can be seen.

Sant nearly loses it at this point when he shows these two kids playing violent video games, but he quickly shoots back down another interesting path. The families of these teenagers are perfectly normal and even know the two kids very well. You always hear about this on the news. Those kids who make bombs in their room because the parents respect their kids privacy too much. These two kids named Alex and Eric (all characters ironically named after their real names) aren't picked on, bullied or socially awkward, they are just ticking time bombs waiting to go off. Their view of reality is distorted and they only recognize themselves in each other. Alex says, "Well this is it. We're gonna die today. I've never even kissed anyone before, have you?" and they share a tender moment. These kids are screwed up, we know that. Their confusion with the world drives them to do the unthinkable. Should we feel sympathy or fear? Maybe a bit of both. Again, Sant leaves the answers up in the air for us to answer ourselves.

Gus Vant Sant toys with the time line of this movie to the point where you are not sure what point in the movie you are at. You stare with fear and anticipation as you wait for the echo of gunshots. Sant snaps between characters just when you think everything is going to explode. For example, Alex and Eric walk up to the school in camouflage and gym bags ready to cause mayhem and destruction. Right before the enter the school, Sant cuts to another character and follows them around, seeing their point of view. Sant shows the same scenes from different angles which raises the confusion and anticipation of when the attack will happen. When it does, brace yourself.

Sant has fooled us all through the whole film. You think you are going to get answers and you get none. Once you realize you have nothing to grab onto, you are now one of the students parading unexpectedly up and down the hall without a care in the world. You don't know what to expect and you can't even imagine how a situation like this would go down. As the film reaches its end you come to the horrific realization that there is no escape.

Sant also never points fingers. He never puts anyone at fault and he never takes his characters for granted. He pulls the rug out from under you in some instances and then tortures you at other opportune moments. *SPOILER* When we see Michelle enter the library, we hear the cock of a gun. Sant then abruptly cuts to way before the shooting, leaving us begging for this day to end *END SPOILER*. You don't know who to feel sorry for or who to hate. You are looking for someway out of this nightmare, but you are left wandering the halls and running for your life. As Sant track these characters, all you can do is watch as the terror unfolds. Being helpless is what is going haunt you for a long time. There is nothing you can do.

There is nothing to understand and nothing to take from Elephant, all you can do is stare entranced and perplexed to what you just witnessed. At only 81 minutes, Elephant comes and goes without a hint of justification, just like the day this whole saga of violence went down. As we stare at a shot of teens playing football on a field for 15 minutes, you wonder just how things can change in the blink of an eye. One minute your eating food in the cafeteria, the next you are sheltered under the table pleading for your life. These boys didn't have that link in the brain for the understanding of morals and rules. We can choose to drive along a road, or turn off the road and hit someone. What keeps us from turning and hitting that person? We know the difference between right and wrong, these boys believe that there is no such thing as right and wrong. Society accepts all beliefs and religions and they have chosen to shoot up a school. They take perverse pleasure in the fact that they can take a life with the twitch of a finger on the trigger. They lived normal lives in their eyes, and they wanted to be remembered for something. The two of them know they are special, they shared that in the shower scene. Now its time to show the rest of the world just how swell their lives have been. Gus Van Sant has his masterpiece. Elephant is an uncompromising vision of delusional teenagers who all of a sudden lost their minds. I don't think I will ever feel safe in the school cafeteria again. You can try to hide, but Gus Van Sant and his camera will find you cowering under your seat.