Classic in many ways

Rating: 8/10 (10 July 2007)

This is straightforward Lynch a la The Straight Story (1999), but with a keener, more epic and visceral directing. This was setup to be classic material from the start. The retelling of this popular, grotesque and intriguing tale, the deliberate use of Black & White, the extensive makeup, the complexity required on the actors. Well, Lynch didn't flinch.
The people that got involved in the project were extremely talented: from the arts department to Freddie Francis chosen to do the B&W cinematography to fine British actors Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt (from "I, Claudius" fame). Lynch exploited this for all its worth and provided a beautifully made film with visual aesthetics, captivating lead performances and a story that seems to tell itself in a seductive, self-revealing way.
Slightly uneven at times, the meticulousness of the picture always refocuses the attention to the story, the man, the monster: The Elephant Man.