It is with great pleasure that I write about this early effort of David Lynch's, having hated Dune , but greatly enjoying Twin Peaks , and not having seen Lost Highway or Blue Velvet . This is a masterpiece.
It is one of the saddest films ever made, without overtly trying to be. There is no John Williams or James Horner score wrenching our heartstrings, and there is generally a lack of over-sentimentality. It wavers a little, but Lynch mostly presents the images for us.
His introducing of John Merrick is astounding. For a long time, he either doesn’t show him at all, or cuts away just before he would. We a see a solitary tear on Treves’ face, or Merrick’s silhouette, or a figure completely covered from head to toe. Other than that, all we get are reaction shots. The tension builds as we wonder what on earth Merrick looks like. When we do see him, it’s a surprise, as Lynch has kept him hidden, and we could be repulsed by his appearance – but when we see him he is scared, and we realise he’s human.
Much has been made of John Hurt’s performance. Covered in masks and make-up, the actor disappears. He speaks with tremendous difficulty, but the words, and the intelligence are there. It is an extremely powerful moment when he finishes the twenty-third psalm. Hurt does a terrific job as Merrick. He is sad, lonely, abused, and coaxed out of his fear, only for it to return. It took great skill to make someone so unfortunately deformed likeable, as he had to convince the audience of that.
It is sad, then, that Anthony Hopkins is almost completely overlooked. No, his character does not get speeches, or special moments the way Merrick does, but Hopkins is excellent as the doctor who helps him most. Treves does undergo change over the course of the film, as he first looks on Merrick as something to study and help him make a name for himself. Hopkins portrays the change from this to a caring friend subtly, and it is a pity that people forget his role.
Lynch and veteran cinematographer, Freddie Francis, also do well in capturing the look and feel of the period. If at all possible, see this film in widescreen. The photography is gorgeous black and white, such that many frames are worth hanging on your wall. It does the film a disgrace to cut out any part of the image.
I mentioned above that there is no Williams or Horner score. The music is one of the aspects of the film that makes it special. Lynch took a chance, and requested a score that resembled carnival or circus music. It works beautifully. The moment when Merrick is in great pain in his hospital room, being swung about by the people who have come to stare at him is made a thousand times more painful to watch by the music that mocks his pain. I’m sure if you heard the score without the images, you’d think it was circus music made fancy, rather than haunting and beautiful. Which is the best way I can think of to describe The Elephant Man .
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