Although it has been billed as a shockingly brutal retelling of the Columbine massacre, a must-see, Gus Van Sant’s Elephant is turgid and dull.
Lasting little more than an hour, it seems to last forever. Following the kids around the corner is supposed to bring the audience closer to them, but in reality it just makes us care less about these uninteristing, one-dimensional portrayals of stereotypical school life.
The killers implied motivations (playing games, nazism, and being gay) are picked from the usual list of pop culture bogeymen, and never justified (not that they can be). Their acting is also atrocious. They don’t seem interested in it at all.
This film had no redeemable qualities. Avoid.