Frederick Treves, a highly regarded surgeon plucks the severely disfigured John Merrick from a hellish existence as a side show freak. So deformed, he has to wear a sack over his head during the day time, Merrick is put into the quarantine section of the hospital as his deformity is more than the staff can bear to witness. The governor shows antipathy towards Merrick staying in the hospital as he is incurable, however as he leaves the room he recites a psalm and the governor lets him stay. Merrick enjoys his life painting and reading. But the Night Porter brings in people to gawk at him for money. He goes to Treves' house for tea and is overcome by the love the family share - he shows them a picture of his mother. Many high class people are allowed to see Merrick and the surgeon begins to wonder if he himself is exploiting Merrick - albeit in a high class way. Merrick is kidnapped and brought to Europe - this is just after the royal patron of the hospital gives Merrick dispensation to live out his life in the hospital. Merrick's fellow side show performers help him to escape and he ends up at Liverpool Street Station surrounded by rubberneckers when he screams his immortal line - "I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a man! I.. Am.. A.. Man!". And then he collapses and is found to have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. So it is curtains for Merrick but not until he is given a little happiness before he passes away. Lynch's second feature and his first for a major studio is a rather sentimental affair compared to the director's other output. It is desperately sad and I must confess that it moved me to tears. John Hurt pulls off an amazing turn as John Merrick. The heavy make up must have been hard to put up with but Hurt manages to portray the man under the deformity. He showcases his intelligence, wit and unending dignity through severe degradation. When his appearance is finally revealed to the audience, it doesn't really freak us out or disgust us because Lynch has primed us for this moment expertly. I actually found the film excruciatingly hard to watch - not because of Merrick's appearance but because of the severe degradation and cruelty he endures. I could not stick it and The Elephant Man - despite all of its brilliance - is not a DVD in my collection, nor is it likely to be for the foreseeable future. Props must also go to Anthony Hopkins for his role as the protective surgeon Treves who wants the best for Merrick but finds himself unwittingly exploiting Merrick for the curiosity of the upper classes. Treves has a tussle with his conscience over this. Shot in black and white, this only seems to make the film more melancholy. It is a very expressionist way of filming the movie and it adds exponentially to the horrors that John Merrick goes through. Furthermore it adds to the feel of the Victorian era in which the film is set. If Lynch is pulling at our heart strings, he has very effectively attained this goal in The Elephant Man.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
