Elephant (2003)

Gorgeously filmed, yes, and I suppose it's admirable that van Sant doesn't look for scapegoats or easy answers in reference to the causes of Columbine... but then, he does hedge his bets by throwing in visual and verbal references to everything that was accused of inspiring the Columbine killers (except that for some reason he leaves out Marilyn Manson and KMFDM -- licensing problems, maybe?), which muddies the waters somewhat. The problem is that, when boiled down to its essence, this is a sadistic film, a sensitive drama with a slasher-film mentality. But van Sant seems unwilling (or unable) to acknowledge these impulses within the work. (And I'm not just referring to the killings. The thin characterizations lead to some awkward passages -- the bulimia bit, in particular, seems astonishingly flip and cruel.) It leaves the film feeling more than a little morally dishonest. I don't know if there's any correct way to approach this material, but if there is it probably requires the feeling that the director was involved with and cared about the material, rather than letting his camera moves do all the heavy lifting.

Grade: C