‘For some of us, The Troubles is the elephant in our living room…’
British director Alan Clarke is best known for his hard-hitting borstal drama Scum and his much-beloved sex comedy Rita, Sue and Bob Too. In the last year of his life, he directed Elephant – his response to the ongoing conflict in Northern Ireland. It’s a tough watch…
More a collection of vignettes than a ‘film’ in the traditional sense, Elephant depicts 18 murders based on police reports with seemingly no link and with no comment on motive. This lack of narrative forces the viewer to confront the futility of the killings in Northern Ireland and the use of 16mm film and handheld camera, as well as the lingering shots of the deceased ensures that Elephant is an immersive and frequently distressing experience.
Elephant was Clarke’s final contribution to the world of cinema and as with his previous work it’s powerful and visceral and contains a message that still resonates today – conflict leads to misery for everyone.
