First let me say this, if you only take one thing away from this film it's that the cinematographer was brilliant. Harris Savidis has an amazing talent of bringing beauty to a mundane action or setting. His talent is used to a very large extent here. This film shows a shooting in a high school from many different perspectives.

This is a very slow moving film and it really is just one long wait. We sit and wait as the tension builds up as we know the shooting is getting closer and closer. Some people may be put off by the pace but I managed to stay interested the whole way through. Mainly because of the great cinematography. Music is…

My God, what can I say? To tell the truth, I don't know. I usually wait a few hours after watching a movie to start even the briefest of reviews, but it's been five minutes, and I have to talk about it. I can't get that final 20 minutes out of my mind. I'm not quite sure I ever will.

Let me start by saying this movie has the most sudden and shocking genre change-up since Hitchcock's Psycho. The film begins as a slow, but deeply moving day in the life of high school students, each from different backgrounds, all with their own set of problems. But the day soon takes a shocking and brutal turn that will affect everyone…

I never much cared for Gus Van Sant as a director as his style is frankly uninteresting. However, Elephant seems to be that one time he got it right and the one time the story of the film is in harmony with his slow, cold approach. Long, drawn out shots, natural dialogue and everyday scenarios give the movie an eerily realistic atmosphere as we follow a group of High School kids on their daily routine on what looked to be an ordinary day for them. The camera is almost not noticeable, carefully observing the characters make their way through the hallways, showing their interactions from every character's perspective. The idea is to make the audience grow accustomed to the place…

I followed my viewing of Last Days immediately with this film, in an attempt to give Gus van Sant one last try. I hadn't liked the previous two films of his I had seen (Last Days was ok) so after this next film I was ready to write him off.

The first long tracking shot he employed to follow a young teen through the halls of his high school I felt that the film was going in a very flashy and attention seeking way, but as long take followed long take I found myself getting drawn into the rhythm and pace of the film very quickly.

The repeated scenes from alternate angles were very effective, and I found the character…

Elephant is a true minimalistic film. The day starts out just as any other school day would. No one expects the shooting to happen. Every moment, Van Sant makes you feel like you're in school. Even though it's relatively short, it does take a while to pick up speed (just like school does).

Van Sant has a great color palette here and really uses the camera to his advantage. All of the great tracking shots adds a sense of unity and connectedness with each character. He also has a very keen sense of editing and direction here (although he could have done w/o the slo-mo). Each new cut introduces something new to each previously seen sequence. Without this editing technique,…

Elephant is a film that is much too dark to like whole-heartedly. However it can be appreciated for what it is. In my opinion, at it's core Elephant is an expose of how actions people may think have no effect can actually have one beyond measure. This film depicts numerous members of a high school in Portland, Oregon going about their daily routines. They range from artsy, nerdy, jocks, and any other social cliché you can imagine. You get to see how they interact, how they are each unique and how they are all oblivious to what is going on around them. It seems like it is trying to show how much of a melting pot a high school is.…

Elephant is a true minimalistic film. The day starts out just as any other school day would. No one expects the shooting to happen. Every moment, Van Sant makes you feel like you're in school. Even though it's relatively short, it does take a while to pick up speed (just like school does).

Van Sant has a great color palette here and really uses the camera to his advantage. All of the great tracking shots adds a sense of unity and connectedness with each character. He also has a very keen sense of editing and direction here (although he could have done w/o the slo-mo). Each new cut introduces something new to each previously seen sequence. Without this editing technique,…