The Need to Go On

Rating: 9/10 (5 April 2006)

This is a masterful portrayal of one of the most interesting characters in history, John Merrick, the Elephant Man. Through the incredible performance of John Hurt, we get to see this as a person, not a sideshow freak, although that element was always there. As the movie evolves, he becomes more than we think he will, actually attaining celebrity. But, like Eric Stoltz, in "Mask," society is there to pull him back. He can't be what he wants to be, try as he might. There is rampant cruelty throughout the world and Merrick lived it every day. I know that Roger Ebert leveled a charge of manipulation and sentimentality against this film. This is probably true. Filmmakers can't seem to resist the rather trite emotional tricks at times. The fact that Merrick was rebuilt to some extent for the film may be worthy of criticism. Maybe they did him a disservice by making him a bit more palatable for the movie audience. I don't know. We create fictions in film all the time. If we have a cancer patient, should we show them with pustules braking on their bodies. Perhaps we should to create an accurate portrayal. Perhaps today, the Elephant Man may be more graphic, more difficult to look at. Perhaps that would make a better film. I just know that sentimentality aside, this is a pretty good one.