The Elephant Man: A Review

THE ELEPHANT MAN    

The story of Joseph Merrick*, better known as The Elephant Man, is strange and tragic. Perhaps that is why David Lynch would be the ideal director for this story. The Elephant Man is a deeply moving, sympathetic portrait of a man disfigured in body but magnificent in soul. 

Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) visits a Victorian sideshow featuring all sorts of human exhibits. There is one, however, so shocking that the police close the whole thing down. Nevertheless, he persisted. Treves bribes Mr. Bytes (Freddie Jones), who owns this particular human exhibit to have a private showing. Dr. Treves has seen the figure dubbed by Bytes as "the Elephant Man".

This unfortunate soul, however, is not seen by the viewing audience for some time. Treves takes the Elephant Man to London Hospital. Despite the misgivings of head nurse Mrs. Mothershead (Wendy Hiller) and hospital director Mr. Carr Gomm (John Gielgud), the Elephant Man now has a home. Treves at first thinks that the patient is as mentally crippled as he is physically. In reality, we find that the patient is kind and a man of faith. 

He is also John Merrick (John Hurt). To everyone's shock, Merrick quotes the whole of the 23rd Psalm and not just what Treves has taught him. News of the Elephant Man intrigues two distinct people. The first is noted British stage actress Mrs. Kendal (Anne Bancroft), who sees the gentle, elegant soul beneath the horrifying exterior. The other is corrupt hospital porter (Michael Elphick), who sells access to Merrick without the London Hospital's knowledge.

Things look to be improving when none other than Her Royal Highness Alexandra, Princess of Wales (Helen Ryan) uses soft power to keep Merrick at London Hospital on a permanent basis. However, Bytes has managed to use the hospital porter to spirit Merrick away to Europe to return to the freak show. Will John be able to find his way back to the safety and security of London Hospital? Will the Elephant Man find peace?

David Lynch is on his second film with The Elephant Man. Yet, his directing has such confidence coupled with Lynchian eccentricities that it feels like the work of a mature filmmaker. The Elephant Man opens with a strange scene of a woman screaming in panic as elephants go by. The film holds back on revealing what John Merrick actually looks like until almost a half hour into its runtime. We get hints of his appearance, but The Elephant Man continues to keep things mysterious. This builds up both suspense and anticipation. Lynch is teasing us, almost as if he is doing what Bytes did.

The film blends a certain theatricality that matches its Victorian setting. We see this in the various moments of theater ranging from the freak shows that Merrick performs in down to the elaborate, dreamlike royal command performance that Mrs. Kendal presents. Mr. Merick is the guest of honor. 

The Elephant Man adds to that sense of vague otherworldliness with Freddie Francis' black-and-white cinematography. Francis keeps to that shadowy, dreamlike quality of the film while also still keeping to a more realistic tone when in a boardroom or the clinic. Surprisingly, the film's cinematography was not singled out for recognition among The Elephant Man's eight Academy Award nominations. 

Other aspects of The Elephant Man were curiously overlooked for recognition. The most infamous of these oversights was for its makeup work. The Academy did not have a separate Makeup category at the time. However, the lack of even an Honorary Oscar for The Elephant Man's makeup work when it had done so for both The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao and Planet of the Apes caused such an uproar that the Academy created Best Makeup (now Best Makeup and Hairstyling) the next year. The exceptional element in The Elephant Man's makeup work is that it soon becomes if not unnoticeable at least not jarring. It, in that sense, reflects how the hospital staff and caring individuals like Mrs. Kendal looked passed the appearance and into the heart.

The elements that did receive nominations were more than warranted. John Hurt, in an Oscar-nominated performance, makes John Merrick into a fully formed person. He is not a freakish creature nor an object of pity. Most people, even those who have never seen The Elephant Man, will probably know the "I AM NOT AN ANIMAL! I AM A HUMAN BEING! I AM A MAN!" line. I think, though, that a better, stronger scene is when Merrick and Kendal first meet. 

Mrs. Kendal presents Merrick a gift. It is the works of William Shakespeare. He begins reading from Romeo & Juliet. Kendal soon begins an impromptu scene with Merrick. Excellently played by Ann Bancroft, complete with British accent, this is a beautiful and moving scene. Both Bancroft and Hurt play the scene with elegance and grace. 

David Lynch with The Elephant Man made probably his least eccentric film. Perhaps The Straight Story is the only other Lynch film that would not be a bit opaque to bizarre to an average filmgoer. He treats the scenario with dignity and restraint. Lynch, who cowrote the screenplay with Eric Bergren and Christopher De Vore, had excellent counterpoints that told the viewers much about how people saw Merrick. In one scene, Mrs. Kendal reads an article about Merrick and thinks that she would like to meet him. Right after, the hospital porter reads the exact same article to his fellow bar patrons. He too expresses a desire to see Merrick, but we know that it is for sinister reasons versus Mrs. Kendal's sincere ones.

Anthony Hopkins, who was not nominated, was very quiet as Dr. Treves. His one true moment of anger, as such, has greater power. We see Dr. Treves genuine kindness and concern. The film does allow him a moment of doubt, whether he too is exploiting Merrick despite Treves' good intentions. Freddie Jones is appropriately theatrical as Merrick's brutal "owner". Their roles may be small. However, both Wendy Hiller and John Gielgud were excellent as the hospital head nurse and administrator who shift from hostile to caring.

John Morris' score, which did receive an Oscar nomination, fits into the various scenes brilliantly. It shifts from a carnival-like score to an almost lush and romantic one when needed. The film does end with music not written for the film. The use of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings lends the final scene an added element of tragedy. It should be noted that using the Adagio for Strings came long before Oliver Stone used it as a motif for Platoon.

The Elephant Man does not sensationalize or treat the subject with ridicule or shock value. Instead, it gives Joseph Merrick's life story a grace and dignity befitting how he was in real life. It is a Gothic tale in its look and atmosphere. However, I think that The Elephant Man does show us the very human and graceful figure behind the shocking facade. The film is quiet and contemplative, with excellent performances from the cast and strong work from the crew. It is a beautiful film of the man behind the deformity.

1862-1890

*The Elephant Man changed Mr. Merrick's name to John. His real first name was Joseph.

DECISION: A+