Writer-director Gus Van Sant returns to his early promise with this insidiously-mounted and gut-wrenching tale of violence. Putting a recognizable face on tragedy, Van Sant casually introduces us to students at a Midwestern school who go about their day, their lives intertwining and connecting even beyond their own comprehension (they have no idea how much they matter in each other's lives). Of course, the day ends in tragedy à la Columbine, but the filmmaker isn't exploiting real-life headlines: he shows artfulness in spreading this story out and then twisting it around, encircling both his cast of players and us. We learn bits and pieces, and then it's all over. Depressing, certainly, but quite real, scarily concrete and final. I didn't care for the abrupt ending (it's as if they decided upon it in the editing stages) and some of the inexperienced actors are a bit self-conscious, but we finally have the real Gus Van Sant back and that's a gift. **1/2 from ****
Review of Elephant
