A compelling story about real life and human nature

Rating: 10/10 (29 June 2017)

This is my first David Lynch movie and after watching it I have to say that it is one of the most beautiful movies I have seen. The movie follows the story of a heavily disfigured man named John Merrick, who, managed by his proprietor Bytes, goes from carnival to carnival as a special attraction whom people would pay good money to see. Finally he gets the attention of medical surgeon and professor Frederick Treves(Anthony Hopkins), who takes an interest in him as an interesting medical case that he could examine to gather knowledge. Treves ends up moving John into a hospital freeing him from the clutches of the abusive Bytes. From here the story follows how John's life begin transforming as he comes in contact of more and more people and people come to know that there is more to this ugly freak of nature than meets the eye.
The setting of the movie is hauntingly beautiful. Most of the scenes are very dark and grainy that adds to the storytelling with an apt soundtrack. The shots of the carnival, where john is with other disfigured people are very dark and have a negative vibe to it. The make up on John is surprisingly well done, so that you wouldn't have a hard time believing the reactions of the people seeing him for the first time. The story is at all times believable and never goes over the top. I personally found the story incredibly sad and was brought to tears at many points. The direction seemed flawless. In fact, after watching this I am going to look for other works by the director.
At the core, Elephant Man is in many ways symbolic to actual life. It points out how being ugly is almost considered a crime in today's society and how everything and everyone is taken at face value. You can't be the strong and silent type if you are not good looking, then you are just a loner. It shows how people need to pity and laugh at other people in order to feel happy and to feel secure themselves. This movie shows the true and unchanging nature of human mind. It shows how all individuals who are part of the society are the same in one way or other. Treves rescues John from the carnival just to put him on display in a bigger one. In that essence he is no different than Bytes. In fact every person shown in the film had something to gain from the freak and in that way they are all the same. The only exceptions are the poor disfigured people of the carnival. What they did for John was out of pure compassion and not for any personal gain. The movie makes it abundantly clear again and again that no matter how they tried, those freaks can never REALLY be a part of our society. This is the question the movie presents. Are they the ones who are the freaks, or are we?