A moving and touching look at compassion and acceptance

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2000)

The film begins with a hazy scene of a woman being trampled by an elephant and a baby crying, then quickly switches to the dark and dreary location of Victorian London, and a freak-show where there is a commotion. We see all the faces of spectators, aghast and appalled by their viewing of a particular freak. A doctor passing by notices this and investigates further, and eventually sees the freakish man. That scene is one of the best not only in this film, but in all of film. The tear rolling down the cheek of the doctor, played brilliantly by Sir Anthony Hopkins, is very touching. The doctor decides to take the man to his hospital to look after him and teach him. The rest of the cast are all exemplary, with Freddy Jones as the freak-show owner and Sir John Gielgud as the head of the hospital, and John Hurt Oscar-nominated as the Elephant Man, with also the make-up effects being excellent. The Oscar-nominated direction by Lynch is perfect, too. Some of the early scenes have a feel of Eraserhead, with the film being black and white and the drab location with all the industrial steam, and the sound also being perfect. The ending is like a salvation with a look into the stars and the heavens. It is an exquisitely crafted, touching tale of human compassion. A masterpiece.