Elephant
by Maura Judkis

The high school depicted in the film “Elephant” (HBO Films and Fine Line Features) can only be described as painfully normal. Like any school in the nation, it has its stereotypical cliques of jocks, popular girls, Goths, suffering artists, thespians, geeks, skateboarders and loners. And the movie proceeds just as a normal day at a normal high school would, including skipped class, football practice and hallway gossip – “Oh my god, he is so cute,” “He has a girlfriend” and, “Hey, man, are you going to the concert?” “Nah, my parents are being bitches.”

But the ordinary day is abruptly shattered around lunchtime, when students Alex (Alex Frost) and Eric (Eric Deulen) arrive with an arsenal of weapons and explosives. An incredibly moving and beautiful film, “Elephant” is a reflection of the Columbine High School tragedy by writer and director Gus Van Sant (Academy Award-winning director of “Good Will Hunting”). “Elephant” has earned him the deserved Palme d’Or and Best Director awards at the 2003 Cannes Festival. The films producers are Academy Award winner Diane Keaton and GW graduate Danny Wolf.

“Elephant,” modeling a documentary, follows several students throughout their day in a mostly fragmented manner. We witness John (John Robinson) being driven to school; Elias (Elias McConnell) adding to his photography portfolio; friends Jordan, Nicole and Brittany (Jordan Taylor, Nicole George and Brittany Mountain) gossiping; Michelle (Kristen Hicks) enduring a humiliating gym class; and Nathan (Nathan Tyson) meeting his girlfriend Carrie (Carrie Finklea) for lunch. The cameras also follow Alex and Eric as they plan their onslaught and purchase their weapons.

Chilling and often hard to watch, this is a hauntingly beautiful film. The editing is flawless, the lighting is picturesque and the minimal musical score is incredibly effective. In fact, the film is reminiscent of “Schindler’s List” in its beautiful and personalized portrayal of characters prior to an imminent atrocity. Images of students moving through hallways evoke the same sympathies as “Schindler’s” Girl In The Red Coat escaping the streets of the ghetto did, except the red coat has been updated to John’s yellow shirt or Nathan’s football jacket. The two films parallel each other in their brave and beautiful portrayal of the horrific.

Another fantastic aspect of this movie is that it does not try to offer a solution or conclusion; it is simply a representation of events. Viewers don’t know what happens in the end, not even whether some of the characters escape or perish. There is no explanation offered for the daring kiss between Alex and Eric, or for a character’s seeming indifference toward the gun-bearing Alex as he approaches him in the halls. Most importantly, Van Sant does not offer a source for the unfortunate plethora of school shootings that has plagued the nation. While he includes subtle hints about causes, such as bullying and violent video games, Van Sant emphasizes that the entire problem cannot be traced to one individual origin.

In the Cut
by Cate McGuire

If Sigmund Freud were to address Meg Ryan’s body of cinematic work up to this point, he would probably lament its shocking lack of sex and death. Indeed, the films in her r?sum? feature very few symbolic representations of genitalia and an embarrassingly small number of pleasure killings. Now that “In the Cut” (Path?!/Screen Gems) has made its way into theaters, however, Dr. Freud has no cause for beyond-the-grave complaint. Based on Susanna Moore’s novel of the same title, “Cut” tells the story of Frances Avery, a New York city writer and English teacher who takes up rather explicitly with an ugly but somehow sexy homicide detective (Mark Ruffalo) investigating a young woman’s brutal murder. Things get twisted when Avery gets too involved with both the crime and the cop, who may not be all that he seems.

From the above description, “Cut” may sound like every erotic thriller ever made, but it sets itself apart in several ways. First, each reel is so drenched in sex and blood that I thought I had accidentally walked into a European movie. And the film is having sex even when its characters aren’t – every shot seems to contain a dream sex motif that would make Dr. Freud proud. Second, “Cut” is largely a character study; the story could easily have centered on Avery’s deeply conflicted self and her relationships with characters such as her sister, a free-spirit erotic dancer (the lovely Jennifer Jason Leigh). I can only assume the writers (Moore and director Jane Campion) were being true to the novel when they chose to focus on the tragically formulaic serial-killer plot. It’s a shame that Ryan, who is breathtaking in her role, gets so bogged down by the bloody mess that is the last 45 minutes or so of “In the Cut.”

If you have a deep and abiding love for sex and violence, you will enjoy this film, but “Cut” is by no means an above-average thriller – the mystery isn’t all that mysterious and there are so many red herrings, it’s laughable. But if you’re looking for a way to satisfy all your Freudian yearnings and see a leg get sliced in two by an ice skate, this is the film for you. Or maybe you just want to see Meg Ryan get naked and kinky.