Elephant Man (1980) Review

 

Elephant Man (1980)

The second stop on the David Lynch train was today, with Elephant Man.

Elephant Man is about John Merrick, a young man who was left disfigured after his mother was scared by elephants while pregnant, an account that is based on a true story.

There are few pieces of cinema as powerful and as emotionally gripping as this. It’s one of the few instances where I have cried, as my heart broke for Merrick and the hardships he had to face, looking the way he did. It goes to show you that people are afraid of what they don’t or can’t understand. For them, he was a monster, an animal, something sub-human, when in reality, he was just a man. A man who was taken advantage of, treated horribly, and seen as a carnival attraction. It’s genuinely one of the first movies that I’ve ever seen that I wanted it to end so bad. Not because it was bad, but because it was emotionally jarring to the point where I needed it to stop. I’ve never been moved in such a way, as with this film.

As I said in the review for Eraserhead, Lynch pulls back the curtain of comfort that we are used to, and shows us the dark side of humanity. He shows us what we don’t want to see, and it’s more relevant now, than it’s ever been, judging one based on looks.

It is beautifully acted, with John Hurt putting forth such an intense and human performance. I was left reeling from all of the emotions I was feeling and the heartbreak for him. As well as Hurt, Anthony Hopkins is superb, creating a compassionate character, that goes against the hatred and disgust shown by others towards Merrick. The love and admiration he has, from the beginning to the very end went against all expectations and it was such a good balance.

Such a damn good film, using another trademark of Lynch’s with the black and white, to engage the viewer without the distractions that come with color. It’s surreal and disturbing, with a fantastic linear story, intermixed with dark imagery and themes, that leaves you heartbroken and dreading the inevitable, while only wishing for the pain to stop for young John Merrick, as he just wants to be normal. In the end though, he is the most human of us all.

9.7/10