A beautiful, strange, touching, bittersweet and ultimately haunting true story, well-told and respectful of Merrick without "cheapening" the tale.

Rating: 10/10 (29 September 2005)

Few films capture "true stories" as well as The Elephant Man. Although there were, of course, certain artistic liberties drawn (as with any film based on actual events), David Lynch respects Joseph Merrick enough not to present him as a monstrous caricature of a man. (You may be wondering why I do not refer to Joseph Merrick as John Merrick...well, his real name was actually Joseph, but was changed for the film as its screenplay was based on correspondence letters between Dr. Frederick Treves and Joseph. For some reason, he altered Joseph's name in the letters to "John" at some point in time. No one's sure why.) John/Joseph Merrick had a rare disease called Proteus Disease, a congenital condition. It made him appear hideously deformed and unrecognizable as a man.
Of course, in today's age of scientific reasoning, Joseph would have been provided with great care; however, in 19th century Victorian England there was still a heavy reliance upon superstition and, to a certain extent, religious influence upon the public's perception. Because Joseph was so disfigured, everyone figured he was either being punished by God or he was a murderous monster. (In fact, at one time he was a potential suspect in the Jack the Ripper killings in Whitechapel, based simply on his physical appearance. It's actually an interesting theory they proposed - that he had taken out his sexual frustration upon prostitutes who rejected him - but the simple fact remains that no one in Joseph's condition could have ever managed to perform those murders. Still, it's an interesting addition to the legend and John/Joseph can even be seen briefly in the Johnny Depp film "From Hell," which is based upon the Jack the Ripper case.)
John Hurt does a truly wonderful job portraying Joseph Merrick. His performance is captivating because it hints at innocence beneath the hideous appearance - proving the age-old saying "beauty lies on the inside"...it's a touching performance and one of the few that brought me close to tears. For what it's worth, as convincing as the makeup effects are in this film, the real Joseph Merrick was far worse looking. There is actually a picture available on Google Image search; if you take the liberty of looking for it, you may be shocked.
The real Joseph Merrick was born in Leicester in 1862 and began showing signs of deformity at age two. He was eventually forced to live with his father, who did not want the child, and sent him out onto the streets to earn money.
Because no one would hire him, he decided to star in a carnival attraction as "The Elephant Man." When sideshows were outlawed in the UK in 1886 he traveled to Belgium to find work and was mistreated by a showman.
In due time gained a friendship with Dr. Frederick Treves (played by Anthony Hopkins in the film), a physician at London Hospital. He was finally given proper care and actually ended up drawing the attention of many rich Victorians of the time, including the Queen herself.
Joseph died in his sleep in 1890. Because of the size of his head he could not sleep horizontally, but the film proposes he tried to just once in order to imitate normal sleeping patterns of other humans. Others claim he was trying to commit suicide, which I somewhat doubt.
In July 2003, a doctor named Charis Eng took samples of Merrick's hair and bone and determined that he had suffered from Proteus syndrome, and not neurofibromatosis, as initially suspected.
Of interesting note, although Merrick's skeletal remains are now on display at London Hospital, Michael Jackson reportedly tried to purchase Joseph's remains in 1985 to add to his "private collection." The less said about this, the better.
David Lynch seems an odd choice to direct this tale for obvious reasons - he is typically associated with the more bizarre, but The Elephant Man is actually quite Lynchian. Its cold, macabre layering provides a nice texture to the film. It's not unabashedly sentimental. It doesn't pull any cheap tricks. Lynch, as usual, keeps a certain distance from the viewer...and for once it pays off in a drama and makes The Elephant Man seem like a sort of macabre tale - which works to the film's advantage because it IS a rather macabre and depressing (if bittersweet) tale.
This is my favorite Lynch film that I have seen so far and it's a pity that it isn't more highly regarded by those in the film industry. Although it made a bit of a fuss when it came out in 1980, it seems by today's standards it has drifted into semi-obscurity and its influence speaks more than the film itself.
However, I think this should be required viewing for any film lovers. Technically it's beautiful - the black and white compliments the eerie undercurrents and the direction and performances (particularly Hurt and Hopkins) are very good.
On another level (as an emotional experience) it doesn't resort to the type of controlling sentimentality that, say, a film such as Forrest Gump might. It is less manipulative, and as a result, far more honest.