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| 12/11/2003 |
| Elephant: School's Out |
A Movie Review
by Wes Bennett
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“Elephant” won the top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival. With that in mind, I didn’t think it should have beat out films such as “Mystic River.” However as just a small art film, I found it fascinating and original. Gus Van Sant (“Good Will Hunting”) has made a film that is ambitious and daring, but also short and underdeveloped.
When dealing with an issue as sensitive as a school shooting in the wake of Columbine and and other incidents that happened several years ago, it is probably best to take a less is more approach that doesn’t attempt to provide all the answers. Van Sant aims for a documentary type feel to the film, which uses real people, minimal camera angles and dialogue. It chronicles one morning by introducing us to several characters who we follow throughout the day.
We meet a blond named John (John Robinson) whose father (Timothy Bottoms) is once again drunk, sitting in the car outside the school. There's also Elias (Elias McConnell), a lanky photographer who's constantly asking John and other classmates to pose, the football player (Jordan Taylor) and his beautiful girlfriend (Carrie Finklea), the nerdy and awkward Michelle who works in the library and is too shy to change for gym; a coven of shallow, bulimic girls; and two boys named Alex and Eric (Alex Frost and Eric Deulen), who will ultimately trudge down the halls and open fire on the student body.
Gus Van Sant's "Elephant" offers no explanation for the tragedy, no insights into the psyches of the killers, no theories about teenagers or society or guns or psychopathic behavior. The film is honest enough to admit that it does not know why the killers acted as they did. The bottom line seems to be that we simply live in a world in which crazy people will always find excuses to do senseless things. Sometimes there is not a good reason for evil and it’s better to admit that than to try to blame the behavior on video games or heavy metal.
The negative aspect of the film is that it is pretty slow and has little drama. Much of the first hour is spent capturing the feel and the social pressures of an average American high school. Although there is a slight feeling of dread, it seems to take too long to get to the shooting. “Elephant” is not going to satisfy audiences who need everything spelled out for them. Some would argue that life itself is confusing and we look to things like art to help make sense of things and give us answers, not just more questions.
What the film does extremely well is take us deep into the crime scene, and give faces to the victims so we can experience the act of violence on a more personal and intimate level. By draining violence of energy, purpose, glamor, Van Sant has made an anti-violence film (much like “Schindler’s List” or the recent “Mystic River”) where the violence is sickening.
“Elephant” is original in it’s style of tackling the subject matter, and is an interesting and memorable film. But it could have evoked a lot more suspense and emotions, even with it’s limited and detached style. We only got 80 minutes, but I can’t help feeling that there was a deeper and richer story that could have been explored.
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| "We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it." |
- Jack Nicholson
A Few Good Men
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Distributed Beers
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| 5 |
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot |
| 4 |
Guinness Draught |
| 3 |
Newcastle Brown Ale |
| 2 |
Bass Pale Ale |
| 1 |
Samuel Adams Boston Lager |
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