Elephant

R

Released Oct 24, 2003

1h 21m

Drama

Crime

List

74%

164 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A variety of adolescents at a suburban high school drift through a seemingly uneventful day, until two students arrive with violent intentions. Alex (Alex Frost) and Eric (Eric Deulen) have developed elaborate plans to enter their school and gun down as many of their peers as possible. Although Alex and Eric are seen as the victims of bullying, and the pair have carefully plotted their attack, most of the violence is committed with a detached sense of randomness.

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Critics Consensus

The movie's spare and unconventional style will divide viewers.

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Michael L

Dumbest movie I think I've ever seen. The characters are unbelievable, the dialogue is beyond corny, and quite frankly the motive of the shooters is wholly unbelievable and very poorly written and acted. If the filmmakers actually studied school shootings, both victims and perpetrators, they would have had access to material that would have allowed them to make an honest film about these terrible atrocities. I cannot fully express how awful this movie is. It earns half a star solely because it isn't an overly long film, so the mental torture doesn't last long enough to fully melt one's brain... But it comes close.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/24

Full Review

Jeff M

It took me a couple viewings of this movie to fully appreciate its power and experience the impact I think the filmmakers were trying to achieve. It follows a variety of adolescents at a suburban high school who drift through a seemingly uneventful day until two students arrive with violent intentions. Throughout the short 81 minute running time, we witness events from different viewpoints. This is going to be an extraordinarily frustrating experience for some, as it was for me the first time I watched it, because there are no answers. A good portion of the movie is filled with normalcy - students talking, making jokes, gossiping about others. It almost feels pretentious. But when the violence occurs, the complacency we've felt from the normalcy of the proceedings makes the impact devastating. I finally came to the realization that the film doesn't give us answers because there aren't really answers to be given. There is no one answer to Columbine or the other school shootings to which we've almost become de-sensitized because of their unfortunate increase in number. This is a movie to watch, ponder, discuss and possibly even watch again. It's one of the more haunting experiences I've ever had watching a movie, but I think this is one of those occasions when film becomes more than entertainment. Van Sant is possibly the riskiest and most experimental of directors working - I recently praised his film TO DIE FOR - and this is one of his crowning achievements.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/24

Full Review

Diana y

The cinematography of this movie was amazing. The way it was filmed really allowed you to see the severeness and affects of the shooting. It is filmed as if you are in the individual peoples life this allows you to feel the sudden gut wrenching feeling each of the individuals when the shooting begins. In actuality it allows you to sympathise with anyone who has experienced a shooting as the movie lulls you into a sense of everyday calmness before snatching it away from beneath you. It has a very raw feeling to it and is probably more realistic to what an actual shooting feels like. The acting isn't the best however I think it adds to the fact a school shooting can happen at anytime to anyone.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/02/24

Full Review

Jeff R

This movie was so Good that when Dimitrios Pagourtzis watched it he decided to go to Santa Fe High School and murder 10 people with a 12-gauge shotgun.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/31/23

Full Review

DayBro

In my opinion this film is a bit tight and my last claim to some cameraman's techniques which I didn't. This film is actually interesting. Conclusion: It is good movie with open final and good script.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/20/23

Full Review

Tessie P

This film is more than just a movie. It's an experience. It's one out of very few movies I would call a masterpiece. The dialogue, cinematography and the sound design is brilliant, and the editing is absolutely perfect. You get thrown back to High School and it truly feels like you are there. At first you feel the same normalcy that the teens feel, even though you know what will happen during this - to the teens - completely normal day. Later on the confusion and terror is palpable. This movie does the exact opposite to the glamorization of violence we see all too often in films. It almost feels like a mundane task for the two boys, not cool, not fun, it just happens - and I, the audience, who are just following along feel the same. I am fully aware that this movie isn't for everyone, it's not exactly a classic Hollywood-flick, but I still think that everyone should give it a chance and watch it. It's the differences from all the other films out there that make this movie truly special - even now (or maybe especially now?), 20 years after its release.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/03/23

Full Review

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Gus Van Sant

Director

Alex Frost

Alex

Eric Deulen

Eric

John Robinson

John McFarland

Elias McConnell

Elias

Jordan Taylor

Jordan

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Adam Nayman

The Ringer

...it remains one of the most unsettlingly accomplished American movies of the new millennium, and exactly as difficult to categorize or definitively interpret as its maker intended.

Apr 6, 2020

Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

There's much to argue with, but this unconventional, oddly beautiful film resonates in unexpected ways.

Mar 12, 2018

Full Review

David Denby

New Yorker

It offers a dismaying whiff of mortality in the spaces between the girls' chattering remarks in the cafeteria and in the blank eyes of boys who feel alienated from everything except the guns they cradle so lovingly in their arms.

Apr 24, 2013

Full Review

Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

A powerful and haunting film.

Rated: 4/5

May 24, 2023

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

A quiet, enthralling slice of life portrait of an average day at a high school before it erupts into a school shooting. Van Sant offers no explanation, reassurance, or catharsis, which only makes the film all the more powerful.

Rated: 4.5/5

May 17, 2023

Full Review

Michael Cuby

them.

...throughout it all, Elephant has stood the test of time due to the deeply human way it engages the very sensitive subject...

Nov 2, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

A variety of adolescents at a suburban high school drift through a seemingly uneventful day, until two students arrive with violent intentions. Alex (Alex Frost) and Eric (Eric Deulen) have developed elaborate plans to enter their school and gun down as many of their peers as possible. Although Alex and Eric are seen as the victims of bullying, and the pair have carefully plotted their attack, most of the violence is committed with a detached sense of randomness.

Director: Gus Van Sant
Producer: Diane Keaton, Bill Robinson
Distributor: HBO, Fine Line Features
Production Co: HBO Theatrical Documentary
Rating: R (Disturbing Violent Content|Brief Sexuality|Drug Use|Language)
Genre: Drama, Crime
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 24, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.3M
Runtime: 1h 21m
Sound Mix: Surround

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