"And who needs it more than us?"

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 2000)

Despite the fact that "The Elephant Man" is about a grossly deformed man, it is truly one of the most beautiful movies ever made. Director David Lynch has peered into the souls of both the "outcasts" and those considered "normal" in our society. Lynch has never been better, and the same may also be said about actors John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins.
Bytes is a would-be circus man who puts The Elephant Man/John Merrick (Hurt) on display in the freak show, attempting to profit from another man's misery. Dr. Frederick Treves (Hopkins) "saves" Merrick from the evil Bytes, but what does he do with Merrick? Puts him on display in another freak show of sorts for a panel of doctors. Treves has again stripped Merrick of his dignity and tried to to profit from his misery. So who is worse? Bytes or Treves?
And this is only the first 15 minutes of the film...
What eventually saves Treves is that he actually gets to know Merrick. Behind the deformity he discovers a human being.
There are so many beautiful and touching moments in this movie: Merrick's awe at watching the play, Merrick removing the pillows from his bed so he can sleep like a normal person and, of course, Merrick trapped at the train station and shouting out "I am not an animal!"
But my favorite moment comes when Merrick's fellow "freaks" in the circus help him escape. As they put him on a ship so he can hopefully find his way back home, the dwarf (Kenny Baker) says to him "Good luck, my friend. And who needs it more than us?"
Filmed in gorgeous black and white. They don't come any better than this.