Elephant Song
A psychiatrist is drawn into a complex mind game when he questions a disturbed patient about the disappearance of a colleague.
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- Cast:
- Bruce Greenwood , Xavier Dolan , Carrie-Anne Moss , Guy Nadon , Colm Feore , Catherine Keener , Cindy Sampson
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Reviews
Sadly Over-hyped
A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
When a psychiatrist mysteriously disappears after a session with a mentally disturbed young man, a colleague is brought in to coax answers out of the youth, which leads to mind games, trickery and emotional manipulation in this Canadian thriller. The film starts off well with a great sense of mystery in terms of what happened to the psychiatrist and what the young man is like; he is built up like Hannibal Lector in 'The Silence of the Lambs': a character with whom one has to be careful when talking to. Xavier Dolan (yes, the director of 'I Killed My Mother' and 'Laurence Anyways'!) is superb as the mysterious youth, "just because I'm crazy doesn't mean I'm stupid", while Bruce Greenwood is also solid as the colleague. The film is let down though by a humdrum solution to the mystery and while there is a small emotional wallop as one realises why Dolan has been institutionalised at the end, the final act does not resonate half as much as the opening act. Greenwood's home life is left hazy too; his daughter possibly has Down Syndrome, and he is living with a woman who he calls 'aunt', but is she his sister? Nothing is clear, including why his home life is even included. At its best and most focused though, 'Elephant Song' is a riveting portrait of two very intelligent individuals trying to one-up each other in conversation and manipulation with real tension in the air.
I have to start with the fact , that I am an ADDICT. Ever since I saw the first film with Xavier Dolan "Tom à la ferme" I was hooked. His talent doesn't have a specific term, I call it 'a unicorn' though.. because he is so unique. I am addicted to all the work he did, to his views and ideas. People like him are rarely born..so he is an exceptional figure.This film is for those who DO value the true art of cinema. I was a bit skeptical before watching the film because it's an English. And I love the atmosphere of Québecois culture that was created by Dolan previously and the French language ,of course.But as soon as Dolan's character appeared in this film I couldn't stop watching.. couldn't even pause.. Yes, the film is slow. BUT it's not boring.. it smoothly flows while keeping you on edge..! True art! And absolutely BRILLIANT Dolan!
Well, I didn't know what to expect, it was a lazy rainy Sunday afternoon today and so I turned this on. It couldn't have been less interesting. Slow pace. Under-dynamic performances from the never-any-inflection in his voice actor who plays Dr. Greene.... is he capable of an expression or only just that blank stare and monotone voice. I didn't hate the movie, I wasn't planning on doing anything really productive today anyway, but now I think I'm more asleep than when I started. Boring! An almost interesting performance from the 'patient', I can't be bothered to waste any more time today looking up the actor's names. He slipped out of character a few times, lost momentum and broke a convincing portrayal that devolved into overly melodramatic theatrics. Maybe better carried out on the stage, however it's hard not to go overboard playing opposite someone with no expression of any kind. Almost as if he was taking on the responsibility of both actors.I didn't like it. I didn't hate it. I wouldn't recommend it.
Well, this was an interesting movie experience for me because I wasn't expecting anything . . . and ended up being impressed enough during viewing that I wanted it to be better than it was.The acting was very good. Bruce was on display in his usual state of effortless excellence, he may be one of the most under-rated actors around (loved him in Flight). Carrie-Anne and Catherine were believable in their supporting roles and added depth to the movie. Xavier is going to get all the attention but he came across as presentational during the first scenes, too much of a jerk during the early parts of the movie (which is easy to play). In my humble opinion, he could have dialed that back and been a bit more subtle in an Anthony Hopkins/Dr. Lecter kind of way and been much more creepy. Xavier did show some great acting chops toward the end of the movie when he became vulnerable (which is tough to play) and began to open up after dropping the "Mr. Sarcasm" persona.I thought the ending was beautifully done and the music was perfect, good writing and directing makes this movie well worth a view. 5/10