One of Lynch's best

Rating: 9/10 (20 February 2011)

David Lynch never ceases to amaze. The Elephant Man is his second feature film and it is indeed one of his best. It is more accessible than most of his films, but it is undoubtedly Lynchian with all of his style and substance rolled into one hypnotic experience. This movie is a biopic of John Merrick, otherwise known as the Elephant Man. He was a man who suffered from severely grotesque deformities. The movie opens with a doctor named Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) stumbling upon Merrick at a sideshow circus where Merrick was one of the attractions. Hopkins manages to get Merrick out of the circus and to a hospital where he is cared for. From there he makes his way into London society, proving to be intelligent with a great personality. This movie is such an excellent portrayal of what it means to be human and how we perceive being human. It is a heartfelt tale told in the most unique form possible a la David Lynch.
The Elephant Man has a sort of dream like quality to it. This movie is doesn't lack the surreal quality which Lynch laces his films with. The movie is hypnotic in its development of its characters and storyline. It helps that the entire film is shot in black and white, giving it a much more dramatic overtone. It is a very serious film, but not one that takes itself too seriously. It's not pretentious. Instead it's beautiful and enticing. Instead of being melodramatic, its heartfelt and sincere. It's a masterpiece in surreal filmmaking as well as dramatic realism.
What really drives this film are Hopkins and Hurt. Their performances are tremendous and Hurt earned a nomination for his heartwarming performance as the most grotesque physical perversity of mankind. Hopkins' performance was somehow overlooked at the Oscars, yet he delivers the most driving and powerful performance of the film. And it is particularly interesting to watch the relationship between him and Merrick evolve as he realizes how human Merrick really is, and that he is a real human being, not some sort of grotesque science experiment. It is truly beautiful to watch these two characters grow and become more human than you would have ever expected.
The Elephant Man is a masterpiece. It is just simply a remarkable film that will change the way you look at yourself and those around you. It's a movie that teaches us things about the human race. Things we don't want to know but have to face. These are the things that John Merrick knows very well and they are the atrocities that he must face every day. This is a movie that will leave you thinking long after you see it. It is an emotional triumph and one of Lynch's greatest films.