This is a difficult movie to weigh up. On the surface it might seem really ordinary. It's superior elements, i sometimes think is heightened by the music of Beethoven. I know Gus used his music in a wa y as a link to how Alex worshiped Beethoven in A Clockwork Orange, as the fine line between madness and genius. However I don't see that genius in these two youngsters that go on a killing rampage. I don't get to know them very well and it's easy to generalize about them and their intentions.Maybe that's what Gus wants to say. He has one conversation talking about how you spot a homosexual, and this makes you wonder in context of what we do so see, contrasting a seemingly feminine character with long blonde hair and the two straight-looking gay killers. But are they gay just because they kiss? And, what does that have to do with their motivations or sense of isolation from the rest of the school?Most of the other characters just talk nonsense all the time. That is realistic so it's not a criticism. It was an interesting decision by Gus to use these arb conversations. I mostly like the way he ties up the walks of all the characters around the school. i once saw a video that brings them all together and that made me appreciate the film more so.I used to think Last Days was his best film in this trilogy. Gerry wasn't very good, it was more arb and less satisfactory. Elephant has to be the strongest but it still leaves me empty at the end. It's not a film that discusses the why's. It's a film that just shows you simply what happened. And that's why I rate his decision highly, but not high enough.

The students are mostly part stereotype. The girls who parade to the bathroom in groups to vomit up their lunch, and quarrel over how one of them might be spending too much time with her boyfriend. The nerdy, bespectacled girl who is bad and sports and finds solace in the library. The jocks with their cheerleader girlfriends. The quieter students whom are bullied by those jocks, and so on. But stereotypes always have an inkling of truth to them, they don't sprout from nowhere. Every school will have these people. And this makes it all the more frightening; who could be next? Van Sant has a simple style that serves his objective. The camera glides alongside these students, capturing every deep and shallow observation, every quote from Shakespeare and every "Want to go shopping?" He layers the story lines with each other; Michelle walks right into the centre of frame, obscuring the jocks at their football game, as if to declare that she too is important. And then on the second level, he builds each storyline towards the inevitable climax, leaving little clues and timestamps for us to look out for. Tension is slowly accumulated, and as a rational viewer we want to spot those telltale signs, a motive, something. Van Sant dangles all the usual indications when an event like this occurs; the boys playing a first-person shooter, the scenes of bullying, the clutching of the forehead in pain to signal mental illness. It is also a marvel of sound design. There is no score, but the sound levels are masterfully controlled for maximum impact. In one instance the cafeteria's mundane sounds build and build until they drown out everything else, and we begin to suspect a pained existence for the shooters. In another, Alex is practising his piano, and the soft, melodic tune gradually increases in intensity as Eric accumulates his kill-streak on the computer game until he gives up and gives the ritual a middle finger - it's a brilliant example of audio-visual association. And in a haunting sequence, they quietly yet nonchalantly go over their plan, and this is intercut with the deafening gunshots of their later massacre. As the title dictates, four blind men each touch a part of an elephant's body, and declare it to be a different animal. But they are only grasping a small part of the bigger picture, and are unable to piece it all together. And so Van Sant regards the endless speculation on these types of shootings; he dangle clues but does not give them any more than a moment's notice. This links itself to the scene of the Gay-Straight Alliance - the leader poses whether it is possible to discern sexual orientation simply by physical appearance, and the camera arcs around the group discussion, as if to urge us to try and guess. But of course, we cannot with any certainty. They cracked because of the incessant bullying? Tell that to poor Michelle, the first victim of the shooting who would never hurt a fly. Van Sant sees it all so clear, and without a hint of an agenda. There is no building of unfortunate circumstance, no impression of luck - it would be simple to insert such scenarios into the film to ramp up the tragedy: a pregnant teacher, a blossoming football genius, a class on the verge of graduation. But he doesn't - this could've happened on any school day. The 'action' of the shooting itself is cold and calculated. They discuss briefly before they storm the school, and remind themselves to "have fun", as if it was a coach giving a pep talk to his little group of soccer players. The gunshots are loud without comparison, and they take life so swiftly, without reason. There is no moment of remorse, no hero moment for Benny, no miraculous escape against the odds. Good action scenes makes us want to watch again and again for the breathtaking thrills they provide. Great action scenes that are concerned with realistic violence and subject matter such as this are unwatchable, because it does not seek to prop up a cause, or trying to sensationalise a conscientious topic. As Alex counts down to an agonising inevitability, I could barely keep my eyes on the screen.

Directed by Gus Van Sant (Drugstore Cowboy, Good Will Hunting, Milk), and produced by Diane Keaton, I had heard the title of this film probably once in the past, and with it featured in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die I was always going to watch. The title is a tribute to the BBC drama of the same name directed by Alan Clarke, and refers to the phrase "elephant in the room" (the collective denial of some obvious problem), not what Van Sant originally assumed was based on the parable of the blind men and elephant (several blind men trying describe an elephant from parts of its body touched). Basically the film take place in a suburb of Portland in a high school, it is simply an ordinary day in the lives of a group of several average teenage students going through their daily routines. Specifically focused are high school students and close friends Alex (Alex Frost) and Eric (Eric Deulen), they are seemingly ordinary and a part of the fabric of the high school and its array of student actions, in fact it's hard to distinguish them. Alex plays classical piano and Eric plays video games, they calmly watch Nazi programmes on television, and have purchased firearms over the Internet, appearing ordinary and interesting as any of the others students, they are actually drawing up plans for a merciless killing spree. They seem to have enough ammunition and bombs to last the last of the afternoon, they simply walk through the corridors and classrooms killing several of their school peers, and there is no rescue from the authorities or emergency services. Also starring John Robinson as John McFarland, Elias McConnell as Elias, Jordan Taylor as Jordan, Carrie Finklea as Carrie, Nicole George as Nicole, Brittany Mountain as Brittany, Alicia Miles as Acadia, Kristen Hicks as Michelle, Timothy Bottoms as Mr. McFarland and Matt Malloy as Mr. Luce. The cast of characters are real students using their actual names, all conversations are improvised, the elaborate plan by the two antagonists to kill everyone in the high school is the most memorable scene of the entire film, the senseless massacre is a near mimic of the Columbine high school massacre, and the ending of the film has no resolution, so there are questions unanswered and it all experimental, but that is the point, so all in all it does make for an entertaining drama. Worth watching!

Seriously. I didn't read any summary at all because I like going into films blind, and so I didn't know what this would turn into. Basically, follow several characters for an hour so when they start getting killed you care for them. I've never seen another film do this sort of thing in such a sheerly infuriating way. Films like this can either work of fall flat, or can work in its aim and make you still hate them. I guess Van Sant succeeded, but that doesn't mean it's good filmmaking. It just feels like blatant exploitation, one of the biggest instances of emotional manipulation that I've ever seen. I feel like this could've been done in a way that was still impactful without going for cheap shocks, and this does go for them. If you want proof, just look at the Benny scene near the end. I'm sure many love this or admire it, but I can't. Something about it is cruel, and it extends beyond what's just on screen. I cannot dismiss it entirely though, since it succeeded in getting under my skin... but at what cost?