ELEPHANT SONG (Charles Binamé). 110 minutes. Opens Friday (February 27). For venues and times, see Movies. Rating: NN
Where to watch: iTunes
Yeah, Elephant Song features maverick Quebec actor-turned-filmmaker Xavier Dolan in front of the camera rather than behind it. But veteran character actor Bruce Greenwood is the real star.
It’s 1966, and Greenwood plays Dr. Green, a psychiatrist at a Quebec mental institution trying to glean the whereabouts of a missing colleague from a disturbed young inmate (Dolan).
Elephant Song was adapted by Nicolas Billon from his play of the same name, and director Charles Binamé‘s visualization of it remains utterly stage-bound. Other than brief, impressionistic flashbacks to Cuba and South Africa, it’s just Greenwood and Dolan talking in circles while the occasional supporting character – played by the ridiculously overqualified likes of Catherine Keener or Carrie-Anne Moss – barges into the room.
Greenwood is convincing as a professional teetering on the edge of desperation, but Dolan’s twitchy, mannered turn gives him almost nothing to play against.
Maybe that’s why Greenwood’s performance was recognized with a Canadian Screen Award nomination, while Dolan’s was overlooked. Fine by me.
