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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board    Reviews    Movie, Television and DVD Reviews  ›  The Elephant Man Moderators: Nixon
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James McClung
Posted: April 5th, 2011, 4:23pm Report to Moderator
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This was highly recommended by Pia so I figured it only appropriate that I write a review for it.

The Elephant Man is David Lynch's second film and first mainstream film, produced by the legendary Mel Brooks. It chronicles the life of Joseph Merrick (in the film, John Merrick), a British freak show attraction turned socialite with some of the most severe deformities in medical history, played by the (naturally) unrecognizable John Hurt. He's often referred to as the Elephant Man due to both his appearance and an accident involving elephants which happened to his mother during pregnancy and may or may not have caused/influenced his deformity.

After a supposed lifetime of poor living conditions and abuse from his "manager," Merrick contracts bronchitis and is taken into a hospital by Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) to treat. Treves finds Merrick a medical wonder and curiosity at first but soon learns that the man is actually very intelligent and well spoken. Treves eventually develops a close relationship with him and steals (for lack of a better word) him away from his abusive "owner." With Treves' help, Merrick is integrated into society for the first time in his life and often the people who encounter him are surprised by how much his personality contradicts his appearance.

I suppose the story (for the most part, true) is the best place to start. It's remarkable to say the least and is ripe with drama. Challenging drama at that. Joseph Merrick is not Forrest Gump. He's as hard a sell as you're going to find as far as charm goes. And yet, he does. The fact that there is no getting around Merrick's appearance (his deformity, incurable) makes his struggle all the more touching and his pain all the more palpable.

There is an air of sentimentalism throughout the film. There's moments of it in Lynch's other films (e.g. Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart) but this is near Speilbergian proportions. But again. Merrick's condition is so traumatic, sentimentalism has its place. The film also explores less sentimental issues such as Treves internal conflict as to whether or not he's taken on the role of freak show ringmaster himself. There is also the question as to whether Merrick's "admirers" are sincere or putting on their own shows and a running subplot of a hospital worker who exploits Merrick by breaking into his room and showing him off to commoners for a spot of coins.

The story is dense, multi-faceted and almost always effective.

The characters are excellent as well, almost anomalous in Lynch's body of work which is peppered with dull, losery characters (though notable exceptions can be found). Stripped down, Merrick is a classic sympathetic character that you'll read about in any screenwriting book. His condition makes it harder to relate to him but that only demands more participation on the viewer's part and is essentially what the film is about.

Treves' ethical quandaries could've been further developed but they are presented and known by the audience so I think it's safe to say he is a well developed character.

Hurt and Hopkins are both superb. Hurt is spectacular. I mean, he has to be. The entire film rests on his shoulders and he sells it. Hopkins' performance is second only to Silence of the Lambs but he has moments that are astounding. There's a particular shot in the beginning of the film, a close-up of Hopkins, that is one of the best displays of acting I've ever seen in any film. Anyone who's seen this knows which one it is.

The direction is pretty balanced. I'd say the majority is classic Hollywood "invisible editing" style but it still has Lynch's stamp on it. There's a lot of similarities to Eraserhead to be found. The film features many of the same industrial backdrops and that classic Lynchian impenetrable wall of sound. There's also a handful of dream sequences of surreal imagery that harkens back to Eraserhead as well, some of it featuring real elephants. Both scary and beautiful.

So I'm two films (Fire Walk With Me, The Straight Story) short of having seen Lynch's entire filmography. I was ready to resign to the idea that he might just really suck but after this and Lost Highway, I'll throw him a bone. This would be my second favorite of his after Blue Velvet. Truly excellent.


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mcornetto
Posted: April 5th, 2011, 4:26pm Report to Moderator
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You haven't seen everything until you've seen "The Grandmother" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065794/
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James McClung
Posted: April 5th, 2011, 4:31pm Report to Moderator
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I'm only counting features.



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leitskev
Posted: April 5th, 2011, 5:53pm Report to Moderator
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I was a kid when this came out, but I remember it was a huge film. The "I am not an animal" was as iconic and well known as "you can't handle the truth" in FewGM. And there was a little of a horror aspect to it because of the way he looked, which was extremely shocking at the time. The way it was shot suggests that effect was intentional.

It is really weird too to see the evolution from Eraserhead to Elephant. I saw Eraser many years later, long after I had seen Elephant, and you could see the similarity, though they obviously are very different.
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