Back to trending
Elephant

Elephant

Crime · Drama · 2003

Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.

Movie details

Elephant

“An ordinary high school day. Except that it's not.”

2003 Crime · Drama 1h 21m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Elephant?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Freedom Writers

Freedom Writers

Crime · 2007

A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.

The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give

Crime · 2018

Raised in a poverty-stricken slum, a 16-year-old girl named Starr now attends a suburban prep school. After she witnesses a police officer shoot her unarmed best friend, she's torn between her two very different worlds as she tries to speak her truth.

My Friend Dahmer

My Friend Dahmer

History · 2017

Jeffrey Dahmer struggles with a difficult family life as a young boy. During his teenage years he slowly transforms, edging closer to the serial killer he was to become.

In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood

Crime · 1967

After a botched robbery results in the brutal murder of a rural family, two drifters elude police, in the end coming to terms with their own mortality and the repercussions of their vile atrocity.

The Fallout

The Fallout

Drama · 2021

In the wake of a school tragedy, Vada, Mia and Quinton form a unique and dynamic bond as they navigate the never linear, often confusing journey to heal in a world that feels forever changed.

Lean On Me

Lean On Me

Drama · 1989

When principal Joe Clark takes over decaying Eastside High School, he's faced with students wearing gang colors and graffiti-covered walls. Determined to do anything he must to turn the school around, he expels suspected drug dealers, padlocks doors and demands effort and results from students, staff and parents. Autocratic to a fault, this real-life educator put it all on the line.

Georgetown

Georgetown

Crime · 2019

Ulrich Mott is an eccentric and versatile social climber with grandiose plans to affect United States foreign policy. Encouraged in his attempts by his strategically chosen (and much older) wife, the well-connected journalist Elsa Brecht, Mott has a knack for making himself indispensable and impossible to ignore. The only one seemingly immune to his charms is Elsa's daughter Amanda, who might simply disapprove of her mother marrying a much younger man - or perhaps she senses something more sinister beneath the smooth-talking surface?

Rope

Rope

Thriller · 1948

Two young men attempt to prove they committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party for the family of a classmate they just strangled to death.

Nitram

Nitram

Thriller · 2021

Based on true events, "Nitram" lives with his parents in suburban Australia in the mid-90s. He lives a life of isolation and frustration at never fitting in. As his anger grows, he begins a slow descent into a nightmare that culminates in the most heinous of acts.

Natural Born Killers

Natural Born Killers

Crime · 1994

Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Gus Van Sant

Written by

Gus Van Sant

Alex Frost

Alex Frost

Alex

Eric Deulen

Eric Deulen

Eric

John Robinson

John Robinson

John McFarland

Elias McConnell

Elias McConnell

Elias

J

Jordan Taylor

Jordan

Carrie Finklea

Carrie Finklea

Carrie

N

Nicole George

Nicole

Court is in session

Put Elephant on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.