Elephant is a fictional evocation of the shooting spree at the Columbine High School in Colorado. The title borrowed from Alan Clarke’s 1989 BBC film about the violence in Northern Ireland. It is taken in real high school setting in Portland, Oregon. With the exception of three pro adult actors, the movie uses all non-professional actors as students.

The movie follows a few students around the school as they carry on with their daily routine. In the process we meet kids like Elias (Elias McConnel) a photographer, Jordan (Jordan Taylor) a football player, and his girl friend Carrie ( Carrie Finklea). Long time friends like Nicole (Nicole George), Brittany( Brittany Mountain) and Acadia ( Acadia Miles ), as well as the two shooters Alex ( Alex Frost) and Eric (Eric Devlen).

It is a pleasant school setup and we can see a lot of happy faces but later when the violence happens, it makes us realise that it may not be the same for every kid.

Elephant is an unconventional movie. The title may suggest that violence can erupt like an elephant. Why kids go bad? Is it bad parenting or because of bad company they keep or is it too much teasing between them? Movie does not explain either any of these or why the two boys used their gun to kill their teachers and classmates. It shows violence as a powerful thing which is hard to understand but which disrupts peoples lives completely. It makes us think and worry.

The movie has it’s ups and downs and Van Sant has done a good job in portraying the unconnected sequences. It shows the natural rhythms of a high school campus. Overall this is a good movie, go and see it.