Elephant (Alan Clarke, 1989)

Narrative Structure

The film depicts multiple assassinations in Ireland without any information as to who the killers are or why they are being killed.

Cinematography

The cinematography is straightforward and yet very effective. The long takes of the killer walking towards the victim and then walking away after shooting them creates a realistic setting and gives the impression that these actions are typical and not out of the ordinary.

Sound

There is no diegetic or non diegetic music used throughout the course of the film, instead focusing on the diegetic sounds of footsteps approaching and then leaving along the pavement and roads and the sudden sound of gunshots as the victim is murdered. This also creates a realistic impression of the murders as the filmmaker is making clear that there is neither anything special about the people being murdered or the murderer as they are senseless killings.

Editing

The editing follows the same repetitive pattern over and over again for each murder which further adds to the sense that these people are no different and the killings are violent and unjustified. The simple pattern: man walking into a building or towards their victim, the murderer searching for their victim, finding the victim and shooting them, cutting to the gun as the shots are fired and then finally to the body of the victim before repeating the process all over again.

Contexts of Film

Depicts a time known as ‘The Troubles’ at the end of the 20th century in Ireland where nationalists and unionists fought over whether the province of Northern Ireland should remain in the United Kingdom or join the Republican of Ireland. The conflict eventually ended in 1998 after an agreement between the government of both the United Kingdom and Ireland agreed to a power sharing arrangement that brought peace, but not before roughly 3,600 people died and over 30000 people were injured over the course of 30 years.

Meaning and Response

The main suggestion that the film makes is that the spread of needless violence across Ireland during that time and indeed in general is brutal and unjustified, giving no clear motives for why they are occurring just that they are and that to so is an unlawful and despicable act in a lawless and deprived time.