_**The ultimate outcast**_

In 1884 London, a doctor (Anthony Hopkins) meets Joseph Merrick, aka The Elephant Man (wrongly called John Merrick in the film) who was being exploited as a freak show attraction. Treves (Hopkins) tries to help Merrick (John Hurt) for the last six years of the latter’s life wherein he becomes cultured, but he inevitably remains an object of curiosity, to high society as well as low society. Anne Bancroft plays a winsome entertainer who is warm toward Merrick.

Directed by David Lynch and shot in B&W, “The Elephant Man” (1980) is a melancholic biographical movie, and understandably so, but Merrick’s story is worth checking out despite the fact that it inspires pity. It calls into question the concept of beauty: Natural beauty is something one is born with and did nothing to acquire, but so is physical unattractiveness. Then there’s inner beauty. The charismatic actress (Bancroft) displays both. Of course there’s also inner ugliness, like the carnival huckster.

A myth developed about Merrick’s disfigurement that his mother was raped by an elephant, probably started by sideshow hawkers. The opening conveys this in an artistic manner, but it’s not to be taken literally, which is why it’s surreal. Meanwhile the factory scenes with the pipes and corresponding dangers exhibit the reality for workers in Victorian times.

The score by John Morris is noteworthy with one piece being ripped-off for the moving parts of “Platoon” (1986), e.g. Elias’ melodramatic death scene.

The film runs 2 hours, 4 minutes, and was shot entirely in London and nearby Shepperton Studios, just west of the city.

GRADE: B

Saw this, recently up-converted to 4K at the London Film Festival and, apart from the clear improvements to the quality and detail of the image, I was reminded of just how good it is. Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft play their roles with engaging sincerity - very ably supported by Sir John Gielgud and Dame Wendy Hiller. Prosthetics aside, John Hurt captures both the despair and optimism of Merrick with empathetic style; and Freddie Jones is just downright evil as "Bytes". His son Toby was at the screening and I couldn't help but wonder when he watched this portrayal by his father whether the pride in the performance must have been tempered by a disgust in the character, itself!! This film doesn't seem to do the rounds very often, nowadays, but it holds up very well after almost 40 years and is really a gem.

The Elephant Man is a straightforward biopic about disfigured Joseph "John" Merrick and his struggles with social acceptance in a fascinating Victorian England setting. The story is brought to life by convincing acting, beautiful cinematography, and carefully crafted sets and makeup. All vain efforts, as the movie chose the most shallow writing and conservative approach to the subject.

David Lynch contributes with some visually compelling shots and interesting sequences, but at the same time mostly restricts himself to paying homage to his favorite black and white age films. His elegant yet manneristic approach sometimes even ends up amplifying the kitsch, overly sentimental tone of the movie. Everything is so melodramatic that for a second I thought Lynch was just trying to be sarcastic and hint at the hollow, masturbatory charity fetishes of the middle class. But then, it would be hard to explain awkward scenes such as Merrick's "I am a man!!" burst at the station, or Michael Elphick's mandatory textbook cheesy villain appearances. I still managed to get emotionally invested with the film and, despite the slow pace, everything flows well enough. Just, for being a movie that was released in 1980 it looks and feels at least 40 years older, both formally and conceptually.

It doesn't matter how much time passes, there will always be some people who won't accept others' differences. This is a fact of life that never changes, even if people have become more tolerant of others being different to them over the centuries. It means a film like The Elephant Man will always be topical, no matter who watches it and in what year.

The Elephant Man is directed by David Lynch, and you can feel his signature style throughout. The film has a few sequences with the surreal imagery that has become so prevalent in his work, such as the nightmares of the titular elephant man John Merrick (John Hurt) involving elephants and people holding mirrors up to his face, and the closing shot as [spoiler]John dies of stars followed by the face of his mother.[/spoiler] But they aren't as abstract as the rest of his directing projects. They have a much more clear-cut meaning; the former neatly demonstrating John's constant fear of how others treat him as a monster, and[spoiler] the latter a beautiful moment that symbolises his death.[/spoiler]

David Lynch also makes the stylistic choice to shoot this film in black and white, along with a sound mix that seems to cleverly evoke films from the 40s and 50s. This is a move that really works in favour for a film, as it allows it to accurately reflect the Victorian period. I can't even imagine what a colour version of The Elephant Man would look like, as the black and white stylings add a historic feel to the piece that would ultimately be removed if it was ever to be colourised.

Thank God we have come such a long way from this past setting though, as this film does such a great job at showcasing just how cruel the Victorian age was to people like John Merrick, who were essentially laughed at and mocked for their differences. This is largely displayed in cruel freak-show exhibitor Bytes (Freddie Jones), who sees John as nothing more than a 'creature' in his possession. It's truly shocking just how soulless this man is, parading this poor deformed man around like his own personal puppet and not even caring for his health when [spoiler]he manages to get John back in the third act, and he collapses upon being shown to the crowd. [/spoiler]He is a man who has no humanity; his only motivation is money.

The mirror of Bytes is doctor Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins), who couldn't possibly show John any more humanity or compassion if he tried. He teaches John to speak, gives him a permanent residence at the hospital and even invites him round to his house. This is such a crucial and effective part of the narrative, as it shows that not every member of humanity is a monster in this period; there are still people who care, and genuinely want to help. It's an aspect of the film that conveys such strong feelings of hope and optimism among all of the harsh treatments of poor John Merrick.

Speaking of John, this film gives actor John Hurt one of the greatest performances of his career. For the entirety of the film, he is under such heavy prosthetics, and you would assume that would restrain his performance somewhat. Instead he manages to rise above it and gives a powerhouse portrayal of this tragic figure. He conveys so much emotion, sometimes just in simple grunts and others in these speeches that really command your attention about how he's not an animal, and he really makes you feel for this man with this deformed face. He can't help the way he looks, and it shouldn't matter anyway.


One of the best aspects of The Elephant Man is the relationship between John and actor Mrs Kendal (Anne Bancroft). Mrs Kendal develops quite a fondness for John, which gifts us some really moving scenes between the pair. This includes one of the film's most standout moments, when [spoiler]Mrs Kendel devotes the play at the theatre to John, and John stands in the royal box to the praise and approval of the other theatregoers below. It's such a touching moment, as John finally gets the acceptance he has been searching for, and it's a scene that truly lingers in the memory.[/spoiler]

Overall, The Elephant Man is a directing masterpiece by David Lynch that tells one of cinema's most tragic tales. It also features one of the late Sir John Hurt's greatest ever performances, and fully demonstrates just how much of a talent he was to the film industry as a whole. The Elephant Man is a film that will never lose its meaning, a truly timeless classic that will survive the tests of time, and it shows exactly why we should embrace people's differences rather than fear those who are different.