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The Elephant King

Play trailer Poster for The Elephant King R Released Oct 17, 2008 1h 32m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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18% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A depressed writer (Tate Ellington) heads toward a path of self-destruction when he visits his brother in Thailand.

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Gary Goldstein Los Angeles Times erhaps a bit of star power, or at least less generic actors in the leads, might have given these underdeveloped siblings more credence or appeal. Rated: 2/5 Oct 24, 2008 Full Review V.A. Musetto New York Post Director-writer Seth Grossman provides a lazy narrative, with stereotypical characters and plot. You just know what's going to happen, although the statuesque Faivre might take your mind off the shortcomings. Rated: 2/4 Oct 17, 2008 Full Review Nathan Lee New York Times There is in fact an elephant in The Elephant King, but his keepers are far from royal. Rated: 3/5 Oct 17, 2008 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...ultimately unable to live up to the relatively promising nature of its setup. Rated: 2/4 Feb 4, 2010 Full Review Luke Y. Thompson OC Weekly Seth Grossman's second feature as a director is beautiful to look at, solidly acted, unpredictable and sexy as hell. Dec 30, 2008 Full Review Mark Keizer Boxoffice Magazine Had writer/director Seth Grossman's The Elephant King not been shot on location in the seedy bars and brothels of Thailand, it would be stripped of its most intriguing component. Rated: 2.5/5 Oct 17, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (19) audience reviews
Audience Member just ok family drama about 2 brothers in thailand Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member The movie reminded me of my life in Thailand. I felt I have got a warning about falling in love with a native girl and worrying my family home. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member not a good movie, but it made me miss Thailand so I liked it Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member (***): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] An interesting film that really kept my attention. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member I watched this movie on Netflix.com. This was a very interesting movie. The only "star" that I recognized is Ellen Burstyn plays the Mom in a dysfunctional family with two adult sons. Ellen's portrayal is so real, she loves her sons and is totured trying to help them and balance tough love at the same time. Tate Ellington is very good as the younger son who deals with depression and suicidal tendancies. He goes to Thailand to stay with his troubled older brother who is running from legal problems, and has heavy drinking and drug issues. Tate has only been in fairly minor roles in other movies, but he does show great promise in this tortured and sensitive role. Recommended if you like unusual and indie type movies, and want to feel almost lie you have been to Thailand in the process! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member I can't believe [i]Beverly Hills Chihuahua[/i] has a higher freshness rating on RT than [i]The Elephant King[/i]. That is just insane. Who pays these reviewers to give these asinine movies good reviews? And what is up with all the bad reviews for [i]The Elephant King[/i]? Not only do I think the movie was quite well written, which most of the reviewers seem to disagree with, and well acted, but it is also based on real experiences. So how can reviewers call it stereotypical? Maybe there is some truth to the idea that stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason, because they represent reality well. Of course, I might be a little biased because I have been to Thailand and had the experiences represented in this film as a foreigner in a strange and exotic land. It seems like most of the reviewers don't get out of their Lazyboys often enough to truly experience life abroad or they have just become too jaded to remember what it was like to be young and traveling in a foreign land full of excitement and cheap thrills. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and would go see it again and again. Hopefully it will stay around long enough for that to happen. Maybe some real people, not phony-ass movie reviewers, need to write some decent reviews of [i]The Elephant King[/i] so that its freshness will exceed that of the epically stale [i]Beverly Hills Chihuahua[/i]. One can only hope. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Elephant King

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A depressed writer (Tate Ellington) heads toward a path of self-destruction when he visits his brother in Thailand.
Director
Seth Grossman
Producer
Tamar Sela, Tom Waller, Emanuel Michael
Screenwriter
Seth Grossman
Distributor
Unison Films
Production Co
De Warrenne Pictures, Unison Films
Rating
R (Some Violence|Drug Use|Sexual Content|Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 17, 2008, Limited
Release Date (DVD)
Aug 10, 2010
Runtime
1h 32m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital