... who is the real monster?

Rating: 10/10 (25 April 2018)

The dramatic content is obvious in this movie; a major departure from Lynch's original style (remember that this is right after "Eraserhead"). While "Eraserhead" is nightmarish, cold, highly disturbing and surrealist, "The elephant man" is dramatic and more stylized; and very dark; a somehow rare combination: dramatic and dark; it aimed towards a totally different direction - drama and biography. In "Eraserhead", Lynch shocked the audience with unreal nightmarish images and events, cold and emotionless characters and dystopian-ish images; here, his purpose was to leave the audience drowning in tears - there are characters full of emotions, emotional scenes, extreme sadness, sadness and again sadness and everything is marked with stunning and exquisite imagery related to the industrial revolution (+ symbolic imagery).
Probably Anthony Hopkins' first real big performance; John Hurt has also done a really good job here.
A movie that questions humanity and the principles of morality.