Exquisitely crafted, but emotionally simplistic.

Rating: 7/10 (18 October 2011)

I loved the cinematography of this film, the lighting and the stark, crisp black and white image seemed apt for the environment; the dark cold streets of the 1880's East End, streets filled with the unfortunate, the dirty, the poor. In fact, Jack the Ripper was plying his trade at the same time John Merrick was being subjected to horrified stares from folk as the Elephant Man. the cinematography by Freddie Francis was truly the hero of the film for me.
The acting as well, was of a very high caliber. of course with acting royalty on screen, your always going to get great performances. Gielgud, Hopkins, Hurt, and Bancroft all give wonderful performances. Gielgud, so measured and precise in his delivery of every syllable, Hopkins too, reflect the upper class doctor of the time. Bancroft, is just luminescent in her genuine desire to accept john as her friend. Hurt is very good as well, many may argue but i feel this is not his greatest acting role by any means though. he stammers platitudes "ohhh, that is wonderful, beautiful, lovely" etc etc. it is a very one dimensional performance. the grotesque makeup masks this lack of diversity in his acting to a great extent i feel.
The emotional simplicity of the film is its major downfall in my opinion. it feels as emotionally manipulative as a Disney film at times, with its very black and white depiction of Merricks existence. he is treated as animal, then he is treated as an honored guest, everybody treating him as a child almost in their fawning over him. every new experience is met with Merrick's stammered breathless replies "oh how wonderful, how lovely, how beautiful". there are about 10 scenes with this scenario. Merrick getting a standing ovation by the crowd of upper crust theatre-goers, whilst he sheds a tear (for what reason, for the simple fact he is deformed?) is about as emotionally manipulative as it gets. i can say i was moved, but i felt manipulated afterwards by this feel-good moment.
this does put a damper on what is otherwise an exquisitely crafted film. visuals and performances are wonderful, but the actual story and its simplistic portrayal of Merrick's emotional state mean its not a film i will be re-watching many times in the future. a very good film, but with its faults not a great one in my opinion. 7/10.