#elephant gus van sant

[7smiles]

EVERYBODY GET DOWN IM GONNA CRY AND SCREAM

[deadghost176]

why does NONE ever mention Alex as an art kid? especially his bag with patches that he carries during the shooting, and the drawing of an elephant in his room (a nod to the movie and the 'elephant in the room') i dunno I just really like his character

:(

[casterhex]

crazy how gus van sant decided to answer the question of "you think they explored each other's bodies" with "yes. yes they did. and it didn't change a damn thing."

[operationandre]

alex suffers from chronic pain.

it’s especially prevalent in his back and neck. doctors can’t really pinpoint why he has the constant pain and pressure. they thought it was arthritis because alex had already been diagnosed with arthritis in his hands; that wasn’t the case though. one doctor said it might be fibromyalgia but changed his mind due to it being so uncommon in men.

there are several days when alex wakes up in severe pain and ends up having to skip school. sometimes he falls asleep with heating pads on his back only to find burns on his skin in the morning. there’s a pillow-type padding on his seat in his house’s dining room.

he often gets made fun of for it. people mimic the limp he has and comment on the padded grips he has on all of his pencils. when he has to leave class to go to the nurse, balled up paper gets thrown at him as he’s walking away.

no one really says anything about it. john and eric have tried to stick up for him sometimes, but no one listens to the two of them. alex doesn’t know why the bullies would listen to them. all three of the boys were quiet and somewhat outcasts. alex simply told them to not bother with protecting him; it wouldn’t make a difference anyways.

[cinematicmasterpiece]

elephant (2003)

[movie-gate]

Elephant (2003) Gus Van Sant

[gravedgr0bloody0shovel]

elephant 2003 gifs by me, i like eric better than alex, thats why these are more focused on him

[tygerland]

Elephant (2003)

[absencesrepetees]

elephant (gus van sant, 2003)

[7smiles]

Analyzing Alex and Eric's Relationship

I talked about Alex kissing Eric and their sexual encounter as purely a "last hurrah," but I have to wonder if he was imitating what he'd seen in media, or if he was being tender with Eric in truth, OR if he was giving Eric this affection as a way to put more trust in their relationship. Was he enjoying himself? Maybe Alex indulged because it was Eric's last day- maybe he behaved this way because he knew he'd kill Eric in a very brutal manner. His relationship with Eric is a bit complex to me because part of me feels like he doesn't have feelings for Eric at all, but another part of me feels like its undeniable.

Alex, who I presume is autistic (with symptoms and behavior similar to myself), trusts Eric a lot. Alex is seen to be very particular and likes to stick to his plans and what he knows, he doesn't like messing up. If he didn't feel anything for Eric, then why would he be so comfortable with Eric using his stuff? Being on his bed, playing on his computer, watching things together and not being bothered when Eric asks questions. He holds him by the arms, firm but nervously when they kiss, he obviously trusts him very much. I think, in a way, Alex's feelings for Eric are the only reason he was able to kill him off so easily. You could say that the ease was because he viewed Eric as a pawn like every other victim they gunned down, but maybe the suddenness of killing him was a form of personal mercy.

Eric would have no future after this event- Maybe Alex didnt want Eric to have his name plastered to this event even though he took part. Alex is clearly well educated and intelligent, it doesn't take much to know that if Alex lived and he killed Eric, the media would say Alex manipulated the poor guy (WHICH HE DID). Perhaps part of me wants to see Alex as not truly evil- I know he is a very methodical character and therefore I believe everything he does has intent and purpose.

Alex cared for Eric in very unconventional ways, and its instantly proven through their kiss whether Alex went into it with romantic intent or not. He granted his friend these desires and that in itself is enough to tell us that there is something in Alex's heart.

[lexxieheart]

What are you doing?

Elephant, Gus Van Sant, 2003

[filmaticbby]

Elephant (2003) dir. Gus Van Sant

[casterhex]

honestly I feel like the weakest part of elephant was just that it used up so much of its short runtime on unbroken cuts of people walking. that time could've been better used to do a little bit more character fleshing out imo. other than that its a decent solid movie and the multiple perspectives made for some *very* juicy moments of tension. some of the parts did feel kind of stilted but weirdly I liked the fact that the dialogue kind of sounded unnatural at times; at least to me it kind of fit the tone & feeling of the movie.

(Edit now that im not lightly toasted like when I wrote this: im not saying the characters in elephant were too flat or that it wasn’t good because i found it kinda slow at times. it’s got a vision and a point which i think is executed pretty well. part of it was just a personal taste thing (i like detailed characters) but im not tossing out the whole thing.)

[querelleofbros]