This film does nothing for me

So far it seems like Elephant is trying too hard to be one of those films that’s “different.” Personally, it’s trying a bit too hard to be that kind of film. The director Gus Van Sant seems to be making an effort to show his viewers that this is a different type of film. I am more of a fan of a director that just presents his piece as it is and lets the audience decide what they should take away from it. All of the techniques or lack there of, doesn’t make the film any more interesting. All I can really find as memorable footage so far is all of the walking that the characters do. Is that supposed to symbolize something? Is that supposed to be some deeply rooted motif? Because if that is what Van San is attempting here it’s not working. I looked past all of that “artistic” garbage as was not very pleased the film, as of yet. It’s a film about school violence. I get it. But why does the director have to make a caricature of what that means. He has the depressed kid with a dead beat father and the dumb jock with the pretty girlfriend. He has the lonely girl who’s an outcast and works in the library, and shoots the whole movie, except for the opening scene, on a dreary, rainy, depressing day. We get it Gus school violence is depressing. Thanks.