a heartbreaking story, brilliantly told

Rating: 9/10 (15 November 2010)

The story of John Merrick, crippled from birth by a hideous deformity that left him a carnival side-show attraction for most of his life, would seem a natural choice of subject for director David Lynch's first commercial feature following the cult success of 'Eraserhead'. But it's doubtful many people would have anticipated the rare maturity he exhibits here, a combination of forthright compassion with an admirable sense of understatement. Lynch presents Merrick as the ugliest duckling ever, cultured and polite beneath his grotesque appearance, but resigned to a life of misery before his rescue from the freak show by Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) and his eventual introduction to London society. The true story may not have been so poignant, but this is still a striking film, with its empathetic cast, evocative music score, atypical editing scheme, and magnificent black and white photography (courtesy of old pro Freddie Francis), capturing all the soot and steam of England's Industrial Revolution.