User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 115 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 79 out of 115
  2. Negative: 31 out of 115

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  1. David
    Jan 10, 2009
    Simply put, this is a film where you either like its style or you do not. I very much fall into the former category. It is a hypnotizing and harrowing experiene. The films greatest strength besides just the superb cinematography is its portrayl or real people- I mean REAL people. We all knew people like these in high school, they are not cliches at all- quite the opposite. Even if you hated this movie I know you could never forget it, and to those that "got" it, this is truly one of the greatest films of the new millenium thus far. Expand
  2. ms
    Oct 3, 2007
    I find it amusing that people rate this film based on its purposeful lack of character development and narrative. It operates on purely different and realistic level. In reality, you can't tell what a person is thinking, but you can sure as hell understand his or her actions and words. This is the rawest action in a movie that I have ever seen thanks to the daring lack of insight into the characters' choices. The characters are simply different pairs of eyes for us to see through as we witness the world as things occur. The audience is left to make his or her own judgments about what has taken place. The cinematography is amazing, each shot taken to enhance the viewers feeling of the atmosphere. The actors do an amazing job of making the day move naturally and as realistically as possible. In this ultra-realistic world, however, a truly unique artistic vision emerges. It is rare to find a story that almost totally abandons the normal structure of a story (except for Gummo but that was poorly conceived). A ten. Expand
  3. Nicky
    May 2, 2004
    Never seen such a fantastic movie like this. the story perhaps not to good enough, but the story goes uncommonly, that's why i really enjoy to watch this!!! fabolous, never seen like this before.
  4. BrianT
    Jul 15, 2007
    This was a great film, very original, the long sequences were hallucinatory, while Van Sant panders to the lovers of of storylines with flashbacks and story jumps. People who hate this film really have no clue, jumping to conclusions like that glorifies violence. It does anything B-U-T, it registers violence and nothing else. It doesn't judge or glorify. Haters are so scared to lose their gun-toting rights, they are almost foaming at the mouth. They are in such a panic, they simply can't stand any criticism on whatever, Opponents are immediately branded as Un-American, as if it is American to slaughter people senselessly ... Oh wait ,,, IT IS! The lack of wall to wall music was so refreshing. Expand
  5. JoelleneZ.
    Nov 20, 2003
    I especially liked the bit at the end where they all died.
  6. KatieP.
    May 15, 2004
    Poignant and hypnotic. It's brilliantly made. Disturbing at times, but truthful and honest.
  7. R.Robertson
    Jul 7, 2004
    Out of all the villains of the year, or any other year, Alex is the very personification of evil. I tell you, the demise of the sweet 'geek' girl was truly devasting...eeny, meeny, miny, mo...
  8. MarisaJ.
    Aug 26, 2006
    Watching the movie gave off a dreamy, surreal feeling and yet it was a very real movie. The cinematology was amazing, and you're still thinking about the unanswered questions long after the credits finished rolling.
  9. JoeG.
    Aug 31, 2006
    Man, I can respect a negative opinion when the person makes the case, but some of these negative reviews are pretty shallow. "Cliched characters?" Yeah, who ever heard of a jock with a hot girlfriend? Or dorky looking girls who aren't popular? Oh wait, that's REALITY. To be fair, a lot of TV shows and movies handle these kind of characters in clichéd ways, but this movie actually does everything with a realistic feel, so much that everything on the WB looks really phony when you turn it on right after the movie's over. I really dug this movie, but it's definitely not for everybody. Some people will never get over the subject matter. Then there's the movie's approach - this movie's all about mood. If you're expecting a conventional narrative, forget about it, this isn't that kind of movie. Does that make it less accessible? Yes. It doesn't make it a bad movie or a good movie either, it just means it's doing something different and original, and if you have an open mind, you might appreciate it too. Also, some viewers accuse it of being shallow, and judging from their reviews, I think they were expecting an "answer" or a better explanation for the violence. You're not going to get a clear answer. There's a lame scene involving a Nazi documentary, but this movie isn't out to explain everything like some ridiculous report on NBC Dateline. Instead it reminds you what it's like to be back in high school - the mundane details and the sort of isolated existance people can have without realizing it, even when they're constantly hanging out with other people and surrounded by dozens of students. Columbine happened like 6 years ago, and every school made a huge deal of it for like a year, grappling at all the wrong answers and making themselves look out-of-touch in the process. Now they don't talk about it anymore, like it was some bad dream that people eventually forget. Few people still talk about this movie too, but I'm glad it's still out there 'cause anyone who watches it may not stay so numb and oblivious to everything around them. Expand
  10. ArianaM.
    Jan 18, 2007
    I think a lot of people want to point to this movie and say it's another case of "The Emperor has no clothes". But wow, I got this movie. Apart from how amazingly well it was done, I was actually looking for myself in those hallways. I graduated nearly ten years ago, but apart from it being much larger and much more beautiful, that WAS my highschool. I didn't see a single stereotype. I saw real people. Their personalities were barely glimpsed and yet they were never without personality. You knew it was there. But this movie was not a deep exploration of all the different people who inhabit a highschool, it was more like walking down the halls (which actually was the majority of the movie). In this case, the fact that this movie was difficult to watch is why everyone should see it. Perhaps it will incite some understanding and empathy-- not for killers, but for the people who have been suffering in isolation for one reason or another-- whether it's the blonde boy who seems so cool and struggles with an alcoholic father, to the 'nerdy' girl who loves looking at the sky and suffers ridicule every time she has to change out of her clothes after gym. I don't want to minimize the crime or the guilt of the killers, but I want to point out another villain in this movie and in our lives-- lack of empathy. Expand
  11. ArthurM
    Aug 29, 2009
    This is a great movie, but most of all a great piece of art. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous in this movie. Great for people who love Cinema.
  12. ChadS.
    Dec 4, 2003
    "Don't go in there," warns a student to stragglers outside the school compound because he knows what's in the killers' duffel bags. Why he doesn't ask somebody to whip out their cell phone and alert the authorities is puzzling. There's got to be an ideology behind this. Maybe Van Sant is saying that the cell phone is one of the reasons why a situation like Columbine happened. It tends to make people self-absorbed and not notice the world around them as they walk and talk. The genius of this film is the way Van Sant makes one of the killers human(he likes to draw and play classical music), before undermining this sensitive side when he blows away an even bigger outcast than himself. He's a monster, plain and simple. Like "Gerry", there are lengthy tracking shots, but here they carry emotional weight because as these kids weave around the school maze, they're actually making a bee-line towards inevitability. "Elephant" is a powerful film, but it'll probably ruin your day. Expand
  13. KyleM
    Oct 25, 2004
    Don't listen to people who don't like a movie because it is not interesting and so slow. I am under to artistic obligation to love this film. I think it is one of the finer movies released in the past couple years. As a not so distant attendee of highschool, my vote says that the depiction of secondary school life was incredibly accurate. The dialogue was fabulous, because it wasn't fabulous. And despite the claims of many, Elephant had me nervous and intense the whole film. It was marvelous Expand
  14. Christiaan
    Mar 13, 2004
    This movie is SOOO great I can't believe this really happened.
  15. ChrisM.
    May 12, 2004
    A pure, tragic and interesting film. A martyr for "indi" film making.
  16. Hubert
    May 14, 2004
    Seeing all, and I mean all of the characters equally alienated and distanced from rest of the world, hearing not a single true conversation for entire 80 minutes of the film puts the viewer into a pseudo-hypnotic state in which repetitive strolls along the corridors (when everything but the moving silhouette is blurred and unrealed) work as a countdown. We do not get much information concerning both the victims and the killers - in that sense the characters remain undevelopped. But it doesn't mean they're remote - we meet them in small things they do (from playing Beethoven to playing with dog) through which we gain insight and begin to sense rather than understand what is happening inside their heads, their hearts. That's where the beauty dwells - in masterful delicacy and subtlety of those simple observations - the characters are separated from each other, they float like isles but they become close to us as we watch them. This film is not about reason and answer since there may not be one to satisfy everybody. Instead Van Sant offers us a rare experience of 80 minutes-long requiem for those who are no more during which we share something with all of them. It's not easy to handle, strong yet delicate and above all very beautiful a picture. Expand
  17. Jared
    Oct 3, 2005
    Though this movie may appear emotionally distanced, it is not the film makers intent to inflect on the emotions involved but rather to show us the way that life is and was on that day. It is filled with beautiful moments such as every one of us finds in our everyday life and horrific moments such as we sometimes see without even realizing it. Though the acting may be amateur and very noticable at times that these are inexperienced actors, it is about what happens not the way that people react. Watching this movie is like being in a dream, filled with moments of extreme beauty and moments of unspeakable horror. Expand
  18. JoanS.
    Feb 28, 2006
    as a teen, i found this movie to be an accurate depiction of teen life through the eyes of people I see everyday... the shooters were scary and their actions vivid... but their faces and their problems are problems and faces that i see everyday... it's chillingly real.
  19. JohnY.
    Nov 28, 2003
    "Elephant" knows what high schoolers are really like, and it just watches. When so many movies try to explain away certain tragic events, "Elephant" is satisfied just observing and wondering. There are no answers as to why Columbine happened, and the film gives none. Instead, it shows how confusing, alienating, and complex the teenage years can be, and how often people just look away from these lonely, disturbed kids. The film is like a trance, the actors are authentic, and the effect is powerful. Expand
  20. StinkyL.
    Nov 30, 2003
    The violence in this movie makes sense. but nothing in this movie makes sense. for cripes sake, high school didn't make sense. there's something really amazing in the meditative way this film thwarts easy expectation and empathy -- really awesome film. reminded me that my favorite times at the movies do not come from being SIMPLY entertained, horrified, inspired, intrigued, whatever. the cinematography is entrancing, and the choice to go with amateur and even bad actors underscores that this movie didn't ever plan to give us what we have learned to expect from the movies... Expand
  21. MaxwellB.
    Dec 20, 2003
    Yeah, alot of critics may call it audacious and pretentious. They were in high school 30 years ago. To have been in highschool when Columbine (Like I was, my freshman year) happened is the only way to be able to COMPLETELY understand this. This movie offers no explanation - it is mimicking life, and showing that tragedy is often never meant to be explained.
  22. BridgetteM.
    May 31, 2004
    I loved it i thought it was brilliant i understood it fully - even before they went back over the day. i however didn't get acadia i mean what was her purpose? i loved all the acting, and i thought Alex Frost [Alex] did an excellent job. Also did the guys who played eric and john. i would love to see what happened next. But still confused why eric got killed.
  23. nataliee.
    Aug 15, 2005
    This is the best portrayal of high school and teenagers I have ever seen; it shows the deep truths of the human condition. It portrays the shooters thoughtfully; the camera does not put them in a position to be judged. We are observers of the truthful prologue of inevitable tragedy.
  24. MattA
    Oct 25, 2008
    This movie will not be understood by everyone. For the people who only see this film as one of Stereotypes, violence, and teen melodrama...then you've missed the entire point of the film. We as the viewer feel just as outcast and surface as many of these characters. We can't fully understand them...because who truely understands teenagers? We are stuck on the outside looking in. This film doesn't give explainations to why these things happen, or for what motivations are behind our own actions. It just shows how everybody has their own thoughts and feelings about the world around them, and react to the situations differently. It is a great film for teenagers to see. To tell them that they aren't the only ones who feel in the world. Everybody does. Expand
  25. May 10, 2011
    What makes this movie so wonderful is the fact that Van Sant doesn't offer simple answers, because no one knew what was really going through those kids minds. He portrays an ordinary high school taken over and does so with an incredibly haunting style.
  26. Mar 31, 2011
    Gus Van Sant--A **** genius. This is one of the greatest movies that he's done. And that would be saying a lot, considering his track record. It's just brilliant.
  27. Jan 6, 2011
    An absolutely stunning movie. I understand that many doesn't like it, but I loved it.
    It was one of the most beautiful movie I've ever seen, and it is patient and doesn't run to the action. All the characters seems natural, unlike most blockbusters were the characters doesn't act as they would in real life. It shows the beauty of life, and it makes you reflect over everyone 's life.

    who say it sucked, probably want something to happen in a movie, and they don't go to art exhibitions regularly. When you watch this movie, you have to enjoy it. If you just watch it just for entertainment, you won't get much out of it. Collapse
  28. Apr 29, 2011
    An amazing movie. As you can see by all the negative votes, it's not one of the idiotic, spezial-effect packed movies that you see in the cinemas too often. It showcases the incident without creating the "good ones" and the "bad ones". It's up to one to judge. If all you want to see is pure action without anything even close to a story, skip this one, because this will make you think. Overall a great movie, but not really suited for everyone. Expand

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 37
  2. Negative: 2 out of 37
  1. 60
    In the end, this odd, beautiful movie is remote and more suggestive than satisfying--a coolly impassive film about catastrophe made at a time when some of us might prefer an attempt at explanation. And yet Elephant is something to see. [27 October 2003, p. 112]
  2. It’s just another example of art-house hokey-pokey. Amazingly, this film won both the Palme d’Or and Best Director Award at Cannes, beating out, among others, "Mystic River."
  3. Reviewed by: Glenn Kenny
    I haven't been crazy about a lot of Van Sant's recent work, but what he does here is simply astonishing. [November 2003, p. 25]