Thursday 6 August 2015

CLASSIC REVIEW - The Elephant Man (1980)




The idea that we once took people with unfortunate physical deformities and paid good money to gawk at them is perhaps one of the most galling in human history. As indicative of the human tendency toward cruelty as slavery, genocide and our early treatment of the mentally ill, the story of Joseph Merrick, aka the Elephant Man, is a heartbreaking tale of one man’s quest to be treated as just that – a man. A mostly true story (some events are fictionalized, but the structure largely remains true to life), it follows the discovery by Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) of Joseph Merrick (John Hurt), whose now legendary deformities made him an outcast in Victorian London but who ended up developing something of a rapport with the surgeon and whose well published life made Britain begin to reconsider its position on how to treat those who up to that point were called ‘freaks’ or ‘monsters’. 

This slightly surreal, hauntingly beautiful second feature from David Lynch is by turns touching and sad, with a performance from John Hurt that is so genuinely incredible it actually breaks your heart to watch him on screen being so polite and kind to those who clearly fear him. I dare you to watch the scene in which he confronts a baying mob with his now legendary cry of ‘I am not an Elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being!’ without a lump in your throat. Victorian London is brought vividly to life, and given a sinister hue by the monochromatic cinematography that manages to draw startling visual contrasts between the safety of John Merrick’s personal rooms and the dangerous streets of London outside. 

Despite its beauty and clear respect for its title character, it also has to be said that the film is a little manipulative, and is perhaps kinder to Dr. Treves than it should be. By all reports, their friendship was real but only really became genuine after Joseph left because he was tired of being exhibited to the pathological society as a scientific specimen, much like he had at the freak shows he had tried to escape. Even with these controversies, you cannot deny the power of this film, masterfully commanded by Lynch who demonstrates a lightness of touch and humanity that some of his more obtuse works seem to lack. It may not be as completely truthful as it should be, but it is made with absolute love and shines with some career-best performances from John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins, who only manage to heighten the heavy emotional impact ‘The Elephant Man’ possesses.

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