Memorable, Informative ‘The Elephant in the Living Room’

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly versionE-mail page to friendE-mail page to friendPDF versionPDF version
Average: 3.3 (3 votes)
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.0/5.0
Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – You will not soon forget Lambert the lion. His story is as tragic to this viewer as any seen in documentary filmmaking in recent years for he never should have been in the situation chronicled in the excellent “The Elephant in the Living Room,” opening this Saturday at the Siskel Film Center in Chicago and playing in other major markets already. This fascinating documentary shines a light into an underreported corner of America, the backyards and living rooms that currently house deadly exotic animals that, in this critic’s opinion, should never have found themselves in captivity at all, much less as pets.

This is only my interpretation, but what I take away from “The Elephant in the Living Room” is a story about two things – one man’s mental illness and how it manifested itself in a tragic story of man controlling nature and the general story of American man’s disturbing desire to keep or own anything it finds beautiful. You’ll hear from several people in “Elephant” about how beautiful cougars or tigers can be or how docile they are under the right circumstances, but no one gives an adequate reason as to WHY they should then be kept as pets other than “because I want to.” There’s a symbiotic relationship between a cat or dog and their owner – comfort and companionship for shelter and food – that simply isn’t there between a Burmese Python and an owner or a Puff Adder or a Crocodile. These animals would be better off in the wild. It’s undeniable.

The Elephant in the Living Room
The Elephant in the Living Room

And there’s a disturbing disconnect or lack of respect for nature represented by most of these exotic animal owners as detailed in a fascinating conversation with an American doctor who makes regular visits to South Africa to care for people there. He deals with injuries related to wild exotic animals more in the U.S. than he does in Africa because there’s a respect for the power of these animals over there that simply isn’t at play in the States. Can we blame Steve Irwin and Conan O’Brien? There’s a startling bit (that should have been examined for longer) that suggests that one of the reasons that Americans have little respect for these killing machines is because they’ve grown up seeing them on TV in situations that seem anything but deadly. If the Crocodile Hunter and Jimmy Fallon can wrestle with a Python, why should I be scared?

But what about Lambert? “The Elephant in the Living Room” primarily tracks two men – one who has seen first-hand the damage that can be caused by turning wild animals into pets and one who was suicidal before he looked into the eyes of a mountain lion named Lambert. The latter, Terry, is a clearly disturbed individual who has transferred the pain inside his soul to a lion and that animal’s mate, Lacey. He keeps the two majestic creatures in his Ohio backyard until Lambert escapes and runs down US-23 trying to attack moving vehicles. The buzz caused by the escape forces the two animals into a cramped trailer but Terry refuses to give up his pets. These are creatures that should be running free reduced to cages with barely any light much less space to move. Their story is a fascinating one.

The Elephant in the Living Room
The Elephant in the Living Room

And “The Elephant in the Living Room” is a fascinating film. Great documentaries not only show you something that you’ve never seen before but do it in a way that you don’t expect as it unfolds. I expected to be informed by “The Elephant in the Living Room” and knew a bit about infamous cases like the chimp attack from a few years ago and the fact that Rocky the bear from “Semi-Pro” had killed his owner but I didn’t expect the human angle of this story that is so well-defined from both sides of the debate.

“The Elephant in the Living Room” could have been an indictment of man’s control over nature. There’s certainly some of that in here but it’s a much deeper film than I expected. It’s a beautifully focused film that informs while it also presents a very human story. By chronicling someone on both sides of the debate – a man tasked with protecting us from freed exotic animals and one who swears that he will turn his house into a Waco-style showdown if anyone tries to take his – “The Elephant in the Living Room” transcends typical documentary fact-chronicling to become something much deeper. Don’t miss it.

“The Elephant in the Living Room” was directed by Michael Webber. It opens in Chicago at the Siskel Film Center on April 16th, 2011.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

User Login

Free Giveaway Mailing

TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

Advertisement



HollywoodChicago.com on Twitter

archive

HollywoodChicago.com Top Ten Discussions
tracker