Elephant
2003
***
Director: Gus Van Sant
Cast: Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson, Timothy Bottoms, Matt Malloy, Elias McConnell, Nathan Tyson, Carrie Finklea, Kristen Hicks
Gus Van Sant's minimalistic drama depicts a Columbine-style massacre in a Portland high school. The slow, long tracking shots introduce the archetypal characters: the shy long-haired outsider, the insecure nerdish girl, the aspiring artist, the popular athlete and his hot girlfriend, the bulimic beauty queens, the sensitive killer and his susceptible cohort. These kids are played mostly by non-professional actors. Van Sant doesn't offer a clear motive for the killings but he provides the usual list of explanations when such an act of brutality takes place: bullying, violent video games, sexual frustration, fascination with extremism and availability of guns. Although the film is short and compact, it also feels somewhat incomplete. The final 20 minutes are truly unsettling but the abrupt ending is frustrating. However, the camera work by Harris Savides is impressive, apart from a few visible glares and shadows.
