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Elephant (2003) 7.2
Ratings:
7.2/10 from 53,285 users
Metascore: 70/100
Reviews: 661 user | 203 critic | 37 from Metacritic.com Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent. Director:Gus Van SantWriter:Gus Van Sant |
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Title: Elephant (2003)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Alex Frost | ... | ||
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Eric Deulen | ... | |
| John Robinson | ... | ||
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Elias McConnell | ... |
Elias
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Jordan Taylor | ... |
Jordan
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| Carrie Finklea | ... |
Carrie
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Nicole George | ... |
Nicole
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Brittany Mountain | ... |
Brittany
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Alicia Miles | ... |
Acadia
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Kristen Hicks | ... |
Michelle
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Bennie Dixon | ... |
Benny
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| Nathan Tyson | ... |
Nathan
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| Timothy Bottoms | ... |
Mr. McFarland
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| Matt Malloy | ... |
Mr. Luce
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| Ellis Williams | ... |
GSA Teacher
(as Ellis E. Williams)
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
A day in the lives of a group of average teenage high school students. The film follows every character and shows their daily routines. However two of the students plan to do something that the student body won't forget. Written by Anonymous
Taglines:
An ordinary high school day. Except that it's not.Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated R for disturbing violent content, language, brief sexuality and drug use - all involving teens | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
3 October 2003 (Italy) See more »Also Known As:
Elefante See more »Box Office
Budget:
$3,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend:
$1,229,210 (France) (24 October 2003)Gross:
$1,227,000 (USA) (26 December 2003)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby DigitalColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
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Mr. McFarland: What? Hey! Where are you going? Come here.
John McFarland: Oh, my God, Dad.
Mr. McFarland: Get in the car. You're gonna be late for school. Come on.
John McFarland: Mom's gonna kill you.
See more »
Written and Performed by Acid Mothers Temple and The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.
Courtesy of Resonant / Static Caravan Records
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
When Elias thanks the punk couple, the actors give him their real first names (Wolfgang and Caroline). See more »Goofs
When Elias exits the darkroom, the director takes a lot of care to show how real photographers shake their film and tap it on the counter twice. Yet, developing film takes much longer than the scene shows, and involves several steps of different chemistry. The film has to dry in a contained area where dust cannot cover it, and you definitely cannot cut the film while it is still wet and go straight to making a print. The negative would be ruined. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Mr. McFarland: What? Hey! Where are you going? Come here.
John McFarland: Oh, my God, Dad.
Mr. McFarland: Get in the car. You're gonna be late for school. Come on.
John McFarland: Mom's gonna kill you.
See more »
Soundtracks
"Supernal Infinite Space (Kawabata) Waikiki Easy Meat (Mano)"Written and Performed by Acid Mothers Temple and The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.
Courtesy of Resonant / Static Caravan Records
See more »
Few films are able to emotionally disturb me, but Elephant managed to do that and then some. Rarely am I this unsettled by a film. Elephant takes place at a high school and follows a collection of different students as they go about their day to day activities. However, two of the students are planning something much more sinister in the wings, and I'm sure you can already guess what that might be.
Elephant is an incredibly unique film that takes a lot of artistic risks. The first hour of the film watches students walk through the halls of their school, following behind them with a steady cam. It's boring, it's tedious, and it's frustratingly pointless, but then again, so is high school. For the first hour of the film I really didn't enjoy it and I found it pretentious and a total drag. Yet then the film climaxes with more intensity, more brutality, and more disturbing sincerity than you could ever imagine.
I wouldn't say I enjoyed the last twenty minutes of the film either. The events that play out in this film hit a little too close to home and they feel way too real. Elephant was just not fun to watch, and I was really against it after it ended. I wanted to curl up in a ball and die. But then I thought about it. The film's purpose was to just show you the day to day workings of a high school, and this is what we saw. Then, in the end, it aims to cause as much emotional turmoil within you as possible. It most certainly did this. So, with that in mind, I suppose Elephant accomplished what it was trying to do, and if a film does that you can't exactly call it a bad film, can you? I'm split on Elephant. There's some experimental artistic brilliance deep within the film and, even though it wasn't fun to watch, it does what it was trying to do. Maybe I should watch it again if I can bring myself to do so. I'm not entirely sure. It's been a long time since I've been so conflicted about a film. Consider this rating a placeholder before I really make up my mind.