Elephant (1989) (TV)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Alan Clarke

Writer:

Bernard MacLaverty (writer)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

A depiction of a series of violent killings in Northern Ireland with no clue as to exactly who is responsible. |

Plot Keywords:

Northern Ireland | Murder | Assassin | Hitman | Gun

Cast

Gary Walker
Bill Hamilton
Michael Foyle
Danny Small
Robert J. Taylor		(as Robert Taylor)
Joe Cauley
Joe McGee		(as Noel McGee)
Patrick Condren
Andrew Downs
Terry Doyle		(as Terence Doyle)
Michael Liebman
Gavin Bloomer
Barry Brent
Paul Nemeer
Sam Doyle
Burt Murray
Tim Loane
Kenny Harris
Paddy Rocks
Ken McIlroy
Hamish Fyfe
Trevor Moore
William Walker
Brian Giffen
Billy Dee
Michael Fieldhouse
William McAllister
Alan Craig
Stephen Potter
David McDade
Mark O'Donnell
James Moore
Mike Maxwell
Michael Magee
Nigel Craig
Liam Hefferon
B.J. Hogg
Bobby Stinton
Dave Bustard
Brian MacGabhann
David Smyth
Niall McLean

Directed by
Alan Clarke

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bernard MacLaverty		writer

Produced by
Danny Boyle	....	producer

Cinematography by
Philip Dawson
John Ward

Film Editing by
Don O'Donovan

Costume Design by
Maggie Donnelly

Makeup Department
Kathy Carruth	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jennifer McAufield	....	production manager

Art Department
John Jenkins	....	scenic supervisor
John McCready	....	properties buyer

Sound Department
Bryan Elliott	....	boom operator
Ken Hains	....	dubbing mixer
Peter Lindsay	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Peter Wragg	....	visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Allister Maxwell	....	gaffer

Other crew
Ken Bond	....	armorer
Paul Clarke	....	design
Mark Huffam	....	assistant floor manager
Kevin Jackson	....	location manager
Stephen Killen	....	assistant floor manager
Christine Sufferin	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• BBC Northern Ireland

Distributors

• Blue Underground (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)

Runtime:

39 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

West Germany:18

Company:

BBC Northern Ireland

Trivia:

Director Alan Clarke's final film.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Memories of: Elephant (2004) (V)

Interesting, but ultimately desensitising.

Alan Clark's ugly, austere short film follows a series of murders in Northern Ireland. Silent assassins are tracked through ordinary streets, with minimal cuts, in an attempt to show sectarian violence realistically.

Watching this years after the apparent media circus that surrounded the initial screening of the film in 1989, without any contextualising information, was like being thrown into the midst of chaos. There is absolutely nothing to establish setting or motivation - the film never alters its pattern, and we are only given blink-and-you'll-miss-'em indicators that we are watching a film about the IRA. The inference here seems to be that, as well as establishing the brutal, faceless, emotionless threat, these murders could happen anywhere at anytime, that murder and gang violence isn't specific to Northern Ireland.

But I have problems with the film. Time after time, we see the execution-style murder, with the camera lingering for a few seconds on the victim. By the end of the film, this seems so routine that the power of the shock is entirely diminished. Was this Clark's intention? Perhaps he wanted his audience to react to the problem rationally, and he saw this film as a way of achieving that, by visualising the violence for us.

This pragmatic political stance makes for uninvolving cinema, but it shouldn't be overlooked.