| Elephant | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Gus Van Sant |
| Produced by | Diane Keaton Dany Wolf JT LeRoy |
| Written by | Gus Van Sant |
| Starring | Alex Frost Eric Deulen John Robinson |
| Cinematography | Harris Savides |
| Editing by | Gus Van Sant |
| Studio | HBO Films |
| Distributed by | Fine Line Features |
| Release date(s) | October 24, 2003 |
| Running time | 81 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3 million |
| Box office | $10,020,543 |
Elephant is a 2003 drama film edited, written, and directed by Gus Van Sant. It takes place in the fictional Watt High School, in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, and chronicles the events surrounding a school shooting, based in part on the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. The film begins a short time before the shooting occurs, following the lives of several characters both in and out of school, who are unaware of what is about to unfold. The film stars mostly new or non-professional actors, including John Robinson, Alex Frost, and Eric Deulen.
This is the second film in Gus Van Sant's "Death Trilogy". The first is Gerry, and the third is Last Days; all three are based on actual events.
The film was generally acclaimed by critics and received the Palme d'Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.[1] As the first high-profile movie to depict a high school shooting since Columbine, the film was controversial for its subject matter and possible influence on teenage copy-cats.
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The film opens with Mr. McFarland (Timothy Bottoms) driving erratically down a residential street on the way to drop off his son, John (John Robinson). John notices damage to the car and realizes that his father is drunk, so John instructs him to move to the passenger seat and let him drive.
The camera then follows students as they walk down the hallways, talk to friends, and go to class. Many characters are shown in long tracking shots that do not turn away. Alex (Alex Frost) and Eric (Eric Deulen) are shown being bullied at school by the so-called jocks, one of whom diverts a teacher and then throws a spitball at Alex during science class. Later, Alex and Eric are shown at home ordering weapons from a website and receiving a rifle in the mail. While Alex is taking a shower, Eric gets in with him. He claims that he has never kissed anyone before, and the two kiss. The two are later shown formulating an attack plan. The next day, Alex and Eric prepare for the shooting, then make their way to school in silence in Alex's car.
After arriving at school, Alex and Eric encounter John outside and tell him to leave, as some "heavy shit's about to go down". Realizing what is about to happen, John attempts to warn others not to enter the school, to little effect. The two gunmen then enter the school, and after their plans to blow up parts of the school with propane bombs fail, begin shooting indiscriminately. Elias (Elias McConnell) photographs them entering the library where they open fire, shooting several students, including Michelle and presumably Elias.
Realizing that the gunfire is real, students now begin to panic, while teachers attempt to quickly evacuate everyone. The two boys separate, continuing their killing spree. Alex enters the bathroom where Brittany, Jordan and Nicole are, presumably shooting all three. Mr. Luce, cornered by Eric in a hallway, begs Eric to lower his weapon and talk to him, but Eric yells, "I ain't putting shit down!" and fires at him. He does speak to Mr. Luce, however; while he is doing so, he turns around suddenly to see Benny approaching him. Eric shoots and presumably kills Benny. Eric turns back to Luce and warns him not to bully kids like Alex and himself. He then agrees to let the man go, only to gun him down seconds later.
Alex enters the cafeteria and sits down (where he has apparently already opened fire, as a body can be seen in the background). Eric meets up with him, and they have a brief conversation, which ends when Alex shoots Eric in mid-sentence. Alex then leaves the cafeteria, showing no emotion over shooting Eric, and discovers Carrie and Nathan in a freezer. He tauntingly recites "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" to them to decide whom he should kill first. The film ends without resolution; the last shot is similar to the first, a cloudy blue sky.
The film began as a television film that Van Sant had intended to make about the Columbine High School massacre; eventually, the idea of a factual account was dropped.
Elephant was filmed in Van Sant's hometown, Portland, Oregon in late 2002, on the former campus of Whitaker Middle School (previously Adams High School). Whitaker was closed by the Portland Public Schools in 2001 due to structural problems and safety concerns with the school building. The Whitaker/Adams building, completed in 1969, was torn down in 2007.
The script was "written" to its final form during shooting, with cast members improvising freely and collaborating in the direction of scenes.
JT LeRoy is credited as an associate producer for the film. JT is a pen name for author Laura Albert.
The title is a tribute to the 1989 BBC short film of the same name, directed by Alan Clarke. Van Sant originally believed Clarke's title referred to the story of several blind men trying to describe an elephant and each one drawing different conclusions based on which body part they were touching. Later, he found out that it was referring to the phrase "elephant in the room", a reference to the collective denial of some very obvious problem. Van Sant's film uses the earlier interpretation, as the same general timeline is shown multiple times from multiple viewpoints. Also, a more subtle allusion is to the elephant as the symbol of the Republican Party, which becomes relevant insofar as the film raises political questions about gun laws and homophobia in America.
The earlier film reflects on sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Van Sant's minimalist style and use of tracking shots mirrors Clarke's film.[2][3]
A drawing of an elephant as well as an image of an elephant on a throw on the bed can be seen in Alex's room, while he plays the piano.
Elephant premiered in North America at a benefit for the Outside In youth shelter in Portland, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, October 4, 2003, with several teenagers who appeared in the film in attendance.
The film was released for incremental distribution by HBO, in 100 theaters in the United States, beginning October 24, 2003. English language release on DVD and VHS began on May 4, 2004.
Elephant currently carries a 70% 'Fresh' rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.[4]
Elephant was in release for 11 weeks in the United States, from October 2003 to January 2004. It grossed $1,266,955 domestically and $10,012,022 worldwide.[5]
The 2005 Red Lake High School Massacre was briefly blamed on the film Elephant as it was viewed by gunman Jeff Weise 17 days prior to the shooting.[6] A friend of Weise said that he brought the film over to a friend's house and skipped ahead to parts that showed two students planning and carrying out a school massacre. Although they talked about the film afterwards, Weise said and did nothing to make anyone suspect what he was planning.[7]
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