Elephant (2003)
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The film chronicles the events surrounding a school shooting in Portland, Oregon, following several characters unaware of the impending violence.
The story
Set in Portland, Oregon, the film follows the lives of several students and individuals in the vicinity of a high school on a day that begins normally. The narrative explores the lives of various characters, including a photography student, a student with a strained relationship with his father, and a group of friends, all of whom are unaware of a looming threat. The story begins shortly before a planned mass shooting, capturing the mundane moments and personal struggles of the characters as they go about their day, unaware of the impending violence that is about to unfold in their community.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
On April 20, 1999, the film depicts the lives of several students in Portland, Oregon, including John, who has a strained relationship with his father, and Elias, a photography student. Unbeknownst to them, two students, Alex and Eric, are preparing for a mass shooting and bomb attack. They arm themselves with rifles and pistols. On the day of the event, John encounters them and is told to leave; he then attempts to warn others. Inside, the bombs fail to detonate, and the pair begins shooting indiscriminately in the library and other areas. They eventually split up; Alex enters a girls' bathroom while Eric encounters the principal, Mr. Luce. Outside, John finds his father. The gunmen eventually reunite in the cafeteria, where Alex shoots Eric. The film ends with Alex finding Carrie and Nathan in a freezer, where he performs a 'Eeny, meeny, miny, moe' count to decide who to kill before the screen cuts to black.
- First release year
- 2003
- Runtime (minutes)
- 81
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Gus Van Sant
- Writers
- Gus Van Sant · writer
- Cast and characters
- Alex Frost; Eric Deulen; John Robinson; Elias McConnell; Jordan Taylor; Carrie Finklea; Nicole George; Brittany Mountain; Alicia Miles; Kristen Hicks; Bennie Dixon; Nathan Tyson
- Genres
- psychological drama
- Themes
- violence; school shooting
- Tone and mood
- spare; unconventional; poker-faced; flat; uninflected
- Premise and plot tags
- psychological drama; based on real events
- Source material / true-story basis
- Inspired by the 1999 Columbine High School massacre
- Franchise connections
- Death Trilogy
- Reception
- The film was generally praised by critics and received the Palme d'Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. It received mainly positive reviews from critics.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 74% · scale: percentage · review count: 163; Metacritic · score: 70 · scale: out of 100 · review count: 37
- Awards and nominations
- Palme d'Or · Cannes Film Festival · 2003 · win
- Production trivia
- The title was inspired by the parable of the blind men and an elephant.; The film began as a documentary that Van Sant had intended to make about the Columbine High School massacre.; There was no initial script before the filming started.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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