The movie is interesting. The story keeps you guessing and the 'mystery' of missing doctor is good since the crazy man / boy is giving out the details, so you can never be sure whether it is true or not, or is he playing game.

I think that Xavier Dolan was really good at the role of mentally deranged Michael. The role suits him really good. Don't know why, but in some scenes I pictured him in some movies/series based on Marcel Proust's book. He would be perfect for one of the roles of Proust.

I did not really like the ending. It was ...hmmm ... too ordinary. And you see in the end that there was no mystery at all about the disappearance of the doctor. Also, the final scenes were kinda ...weak. But, all in all, quite good, except the last 3,4 minutes.

Eight from me.

''Elephant Song'' is a rather unusual drama. Despite a rather predictable story, an unnecessarily twisted plot development and a few vapid side stories going nowhere with at best average actors and actresses, this movie is still recommendable and one of the better genre flicks of the past years.

This is due to two precise elements. First of all, the movie has a numbing, nostalgic and deject atmosphere that serves as intriguing guide line. The soundtrack, the settings and the most important characters all add to this. This movie has a soul and a universe that is perhaps a little bit antiquated but still emotionally intriguing.

The second and most important reason why this movie works so well is the outstanding acting performance by Xavier Dolan. He plays a fascinating character who tries to be so unpredictable that it becomes predictable, who pretends to be crazy and evil even though he knows that he is very sane and kind at heart and who ends up trying to be rational and honest even though he still is irrationally emotional and cleverly dishonest for one very precise reason. This character and this actor make an otherwise at best average or even slightly below average flick an above average psycho drama. Even though Xavier Dolan is essentially known as a young and promising French-Canadian director, I hope he will focus on his acting career as well since this is where he really shines.

If you are looking for an atmospheric and slow-paced psycho drama with a fascinating main character, this is one of the best films of its kind of the decade. If you are looking for a clever plot and a diversified film, you will though end up being disappointed. With a better script and a more skilled director, Xavier Dolan could be a realistic candidate for an Academy Award for Best Actor in the near future.

Xavier Dolan carries this movie start to finish. And the ending is what this story is all about!

Dolan as Michael Aleen is brilliant in creating this character that is so compelling and deceitful he fools Dr. Green and nurse Petersen and the viewer into thinking he has the information they are seeking on Dr. Lawrence. What Dr. Green and nurse Petersen and the viewer do not realize is that Michael has one goal on this Christmas eve and thanks to an oversight by Dr. Green, Michael achieves his goal. And that is when we learn why he is in this mental hospital because his presents there is never really clearly defined throughout this story.

What a film! Xavier Dolan deserves more credit for his acting and directing. He is an overlooked talent that hopefully will be a big name in the movie world. But unfortunately real talent seldom makes a splash in Hollywood.

Well, this was an interesting movie experience for me because I wasn't expecting anything . . . and ended up being impressed enough during viewing that I wanted it to be better than it was.

The acting was very good. Bruce was on display in his usual state of effortless excellence, he may be one of the most under-rated actors around (loved him in Flight). Carrie-Anne and Catherine were believable in their supporting roles and added depth to the movie.

Xavier is going to get all the attention but he came across as presentational during the first scenes, too much of a jerk during the early parts of the movie (which is easy to play). In my humble opinion, he could have dialed that back and been a bit more subtle in an Anthony Hopkins/Dr. Lecter kind of way and been much more creepy. Xavier did show some great acting chops toward the end of the movie when he became vulnerable (which is tough to play) and began to open up after dropping the "Mr. Sarcasm" persona.

I thought the ending was beautifully done and the music was perfect, good writing and directing makes this movie well worth a view. 5/10

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.

It's 1966. Psychiatrist Toby Green (Bruce Greenwood) talks to patient Michael Aleen (Xavier Dolan) who is supposed to have information on missing colleague Dr. Lawrence. Michael claims to be white elephant and keeps talking about elephants. He plays a cat-and-mouse game with Dr. Green and head nurse Susan Peterson (Catherine Keener). Green and Peterson used to be married until the lost of their daughter Rachel. Green faces a strained home life with Olivia (Carrie-Anne Moss) and autistic niece Amy. The head doctor interviews both Green and Peterson about Michael.

Xavier Dolan does an interesting job and Greenwood is good. The story needs a bit more meat. Toby's home life needs a little more clarification especially with Olivia and Amy. The mystery with Lawrence gets defused too early. After the security guard and police claim to have seen Lawrence, the tension to find him almost disappears completely. The story needs to pace out and create more twists and reveals.

We get to the big revelation scene which is not an awakening to anyone in the staff, the poor child is misplaced, and at no point even after the ending, no one ever brings up one rousing question, 'what the hell was this kid doing here?'

Its beyond me , I don't get it... I understand we all have a job to do, but there is such a thing as doing it to well, ask questions dang!

Think outside your box, think about others how this will affect posterity , what does this mean to us and mankind together, how will this affect our children, or grandfathers and grandmothers - this is just not right, do the right thing, if there is something terribly wrong in the world question it , don't just obsequiously be a part of the entire degradation of mankind because its easier, because its your job...

Think of your ancestors and what they went through, they would want you to stand for what is right , lest you succumb and they turn in their graves appallingly degradantly, abominably foreverly!

I don't give many 10's. However, I could find nothing wrong, anywhere, from dialogue to plot to character devolopment, to hold against this most unique film. I say unique not because nothing similar has ever come before, but because the art, the humanity, this director understood in order to make this film so full and satisfyingly complete, telling a story you're truly waiting on and not anticipating or calculating, is beautiful and acute. A tapestry has truly been weaved! Bravo!

Admirable film that doesn't hide its theatrical origins. That's fine if you love good acting but the dialogue is often unconvincing. (viewed 4/17)

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!

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.