Elephant

Elephant (2003)

7 mistakes

(1 vote)

Plot hole: Aside from the fact that you can't have a semi-automatic rifle delivered to your doorstep (except to an authorized dealer), there's also the fact that the weapon apparently was shipped with a full magazine. This is ridiculous. All the boy did was take the mag from the box to the gun and it started firing right away. One can assume they already had the ammo and filled the mag inside the house. This is countered by the fact that when he takes the mag out of the box, it is empty. Freeze-frame confirms there is not a single cartridge in the magazine before it is inserted into the weapon. (01:21:40)

Revealing mistake: When Nate looks out into the hallway during the discussion, he is shot. He falls to the floor on his back - the bullet was shown to exit his back - but his chest is completely unharmed and his shirt is free from any bullet hole.

Continuity mistake: When Alex walks forward in the cafeteria with his notepad, he stops by the cafeteria tills. In one shot, you see a student going up to pay for their lunch. But it then cuts, and the student has vanished.

Continuity mistake: Early in the movie, just before John is seen leaving the school and passing the gun-toting students for the first time, John is shown briefly coaxing a dog into a little high-jumping trick. Much later, when the same scene is viewed from the gun-toters perspective, the dog doesn't do the trick.

Visible crew/equipment: Tape markers can be seen a few times during the film - most noticeably when Michelle is pushing the library cart over to the shelf, and when Nicole, Brittany and Jordan walk over to the table in the cafeteria to eat lunch.

Continuity mistake: Due to the different perspective during the whole day, there are some inconsistencies in the events during the day, for example when John leaves school early on in the movie it is a dry day. But later on, when shown from a different perspective it is very wet as he leaves.

Continuity mistake: When Michelle goes to library and places the books on a bookshelf, the top three shelves are full of books and the bottom shelf is empty. But after this scene, all the shelves are full of books, including the bottom one. (00:37:15 - 00:57:50)

vidar

John McFarland: Hey, what are you guys doing?
Alex: Get the fuck out and don't come back! Some heavy shit's going down.

More quotes from Elephant

Trivia: While this is common knowledge to most, this movie was inspired by the events of Columbine in 1999. Some scenes mimick the real-life massacre almost exactly. For instance, they planned to kill many more than they actually were able to because of the failure of their improvised explosive devices. The real killers had planned to murder at least 600 people, though it is not mentioned in this film the scope of the plan. Another, more obvious, link is the use of the Tec-9 assault pistol. One can also link the use of settings like the Library and the Cafeteria to the media coverage of the real event. Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacreFirearms.

More trivia for Elephant

Question: Why did that guy shoot his own friend near the end? Why did the two start shooting in the first place anyway?

Answer: This movie was based on the Columbine High School Massacre, and another high school massacre. There's no answer to "why" they did it.

More questions & answers from Elephant

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