A wonderful film

Rating: 9/10 (19 March 2011)

Which to consider first, the story or the film? The story is a true one. John Merrick, horrifically disfigured by a rare medical condition, is rescued from circus freakdom and given a secure place to live by surgeon Frederick Treves, where he enjoys some real friendship before his relatively young death.
This sad but moving story features some terrific performances. Anne Bancroft's Mrs Kendal is full of grace, Anthony Hopkins' Treves is dignified and compassionate if somewhat dour, but the ace in the pack is John Hurt's Merrick. Hurt himself more or less disappears beneath the prosthetics of Merrick's disfigurements, which makes his performance of quiet gentleness all the more remarkable.
More remarkable still is the fact that this film is made by David Lynch. Known at this point for making films which were - how can I say this - off the wall, out of the mainstream, and difficult, it was a revelation to discover that Lynch had it in him to make a film which told a straightforward story as well as this one does.