That was an excellent one.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

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!

If you haven't watched the trailer yet, don't. The trailer gives too much away and robs the viewer of the sense of constant discovery, and there is a trove of things to discover.This is a story of an unloved soul looking for a way out of the somber world of his own feelings and thoughts, while carrying the burden of a beautiful mind. Being a theater piece at its inception, the movie ravishes with its dialogues and beautiful scenes. The lack of color is abundantly compensated by the vivid close-ups, the overall suspense and poignant flashbacks.Michael (the mental patient being the centerpiece of the story) is lovable from the first seconds as a character and as an actor playing the character. Xavier Dolan has a way of wooing people, so it's very hard not to fall in love with his performance and his character by the end of the movie. He's brisk, accurate, hits the target with every line, and when he opens up in the end, the beauty of it is so tremendous it pierces your heart like a golden needle. The performances of the other actors are no less impressive, but Dolan is an inevitable scene-stealer.Tragedy here is more of a liberation of sorts. The witty and at times funny story takes a sharp turn into the abyss of emotional pain. All the elements fall into place perfectly, creating a feeling that you've just watched a short.Elephant Song is a masterpiece worthy of watching and rewatching, listening and relistening. It will leave no string untouched.

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.