A hard movie to watch, but a truly great one as well

Rating: 9/10 (5 December 2004)

I haven't read or heard anything about the story of Joseph Carey Merrick, aka John Merrick, aka The Elephant Man before seeing this movie, so I can't say if it's accurate or not. However, from everything I've heard, it seems to be as close to the original story as it can get. I hadn't seen any other films by David Lynch when I sat down to watch this, so I was quite excited to see if it really lived up to all the hype surrounding it. It does. The film is excellent and nearly perfect. However, there are small imperfections that pull it just below a perfect rating, but it's very close. The plot is very good, and the way we learn of The Elephant Man is great. The way Lynch builds up suspense for the first few minutes, luring us with the promise of seeing something bizarre. When that promise is not kept, we are only more interested in seeing this, this creature that they speak of. But Lynch drags this even further... in fact, we don't get a good look at The Elephant Man for the first half hour... and even then, it's just in a flash. From there, we slowly see more and more of him, but somehow we never manage to truly get used to him. This is brilliant directing from one of the best directors out there, because obviously he would lose effect should we ever actually get used to his looks. The acting is great. I don't think I found one single character to be poorly performed. However, those that stand out the most are definitely Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt. Hopkins is great as the doctor who is amazed at this new phenomenon and is instantly intrigued in the physique of this man. Hurt is astounding as John Merrick, The Elephant Man. He brings such an innocence and purity to his character that we can't help but feel sorry for this man, as he is treated horribly by the majority of those he meet or who see him. I didn't cry during this film, but it was more close than I thought possible. For a film that deals with such a delicate subject, it has no actual sap or sentimentality... only sadness. Pure sadness. Near the ending, there is a powerful scene that shows, in a non-preachy fashion, the point of the film; it is not his looks that make him an animal, if he ever was one... it was the reactions of other men. The ending is beautiful. No other way to put it. Simply beautiful. As for those small imperfections I mentioned... I can't quite put my finger on what it is, specifically, but it just seems like something was missing... maybe I just felt that the film was too sad, maybe it was that the few attempts at lightening the mood fell flat and seemed out of place... maybe I just wasn't prepared for this moving experience. I don't know. I am honestly not sure. But while I found this movie to be great, excellent even, I have to say that there are better films. Not far better, no... but slightly better. There are films where all of the elements come together more perfectly and create a better movie overall. This one is worth watching, though, and should be seen by anyone who feels they would benefit from it on a personal or emotional level. It's a masterpiece. I recommend this movie to anyone mature enough to understand it. Yes. There is no 'definite' group of people that will get more out of this film than any other... except those that are intelligent and mature enough to understand and appreciate it. If you are one of those, and you have not yet seen this movie, go out and get it. You won't regret it. 9/10