A Film For Those With A Heart

Rating: 10/10 (1 November 2013)

If you want to know if you or someone else has a heart, watch this film. If you do not feel something, sadness or anger, while watching this film then i'm sorry to say, you are heartless. David Lynch directs the story of John Merrick (Joseph Merrick was his real name), unfortunately known as The Elephant Man because of his deformities. Unfortunately, this film is all I know about the man, but it has inspired me to find out all I can about his life. I had heard an unfortunate rumor that he was considered a suspect for Jack The Ripper. But if this film holds any truth, then it could not even be a possibility. I hope at least that this film captured the true John Merrick, which is a man with a heart. Not many films make me cry but this one most certainly did. It shows how cruel people are, especially towards those who are different from themselves. But it also shows people with heart who treat him with the utmost respect and who truly do feel for him, unlike those who abuse and use him for a buck. I can see this movie in life itself with all it's beauty and cruelty. David Lynch directs seemingly using inspiration from classics such as Freaks, Frankenstein and his own, Eraserhead, all in black and white such as this. If I have any problem with this film it would have to be, and i'm sorry to say, Anthony Hopkins. His acting in this I find rather odd, and this coming from a fan of David Lynch, who i've seen just about everything by, so having the knowledge of Lynch's odd characters. But something seems off by Hopkins performance that I can't quite put my finger on. He seems tired, confused and upset even, as if he and the director did not get along well. It's not that his performance is necessarily bad, otherwise I would have given this 9 stars instead of 10. But it's John Hurt that does an amazing job with the character that he portrays. The make-up is incredible that I was surprised to see that it wasn't done by either Rick Baker or Stan Winston but rather by a man named Christopher Tucker. In my opinion this film should be mandatory viewing for all and used as a "life skills" course on how to be and how not to be as a human being. This world would be a much better place if we all treated one another equally, differences and all.