A TRIBUTE TO THE HUMAN SPIRIT : "THE ELEPHANT MAN"

As you can imagine, directors are a pretty big thing for me when selecting films. And like all human beings, I have the ones I like and the ones I don’t like so much… Now, David Lynch I respect. Yes, I may have avoided him thus far but I do respect him. Lynch is one of those guys you know, you either like him or hate him. I err… Well, not to sound too sided I don’t exactly like him… Ehm… I bought this film never the less… The 8 Oscar ® nominations and the César Award encouraged me as did the presence of Sir Anthony Hopkins and the true and tragic story the film was based on… (Mind you Oscars® and awards don’t necessarily guarantee viewer happiness, look at Mulholland Drive – from my point of view I mean :S ) God, I’m on a rambler this evening, OK, The Elephant Man.
Now, The Elephant Man is the true story of a young man named John Merrick. He lived in Victorian England. He was intelligent and sensitive; however, he was most terribly deformed. His deformations were of such an extent that the only way he could make his living was in a carnival freak show – as one of the “freaks”. Not that he made his own living either; his “minder” was a man named Bytes who assumed Merrick was an idiot (because he never spoke). Merrick’s life was changed when an ambitious young surgeon named Frederick Treves (a dashing young Anthony Hopkins) visited the carnival. He convinced Bytes to “lend” Merrick to him for a symposium. He succeeded and made quite a name for himself in the process. But, despite all his initial doubts and prejudices he grew fond of John. Even further, he befriended him when he realized John could both speak and understand. As you can imagine; this changed Merrick’s life forever…
This film is not a happy one because the true story of John Merrick’s short life was not a happy one either… Well, except at the end of course. This, by the way is not a typical “Lynchism” with weird subconscious – dream sequences… I mean there are a few thrown in but nothing that doesn’t wash down with the rest of the story. No, this is your typical “film” film (in case you’re confused I mean that as a compliment). Seriously though, it just served to show me and the likes of me, that if David Lynch is known for his more err… “confusing” films it is by no means for lack of skill or lack of comprehension of the cinema as a medium. Oh no. I cried buckets all through the film that tells a touching story very skillfully (when I say buckets I mean buckets by the way, I was so upset I actually ran out of the room howling “I can’t take it” at one point) and with great composure. It is a Victorian “film noir” if you will. Shot in black and white for ambiance (and it makes a good pun too, no? film noir, black and white… Oh never mind…) this is a must see on many levels.
And one of them is a tribute to Mr. Merrick. Mr. Merrick to whom mundane tasks such as sleeping (his head was so large if he lay down to sleep he would break his neck; he had to sleep sitting up) or walking down the street (apart from the fact that people who saw him ran screaming his spine was deformed, making walking painful and difficult) were at times extreme challenges. Remember your office job you hate? Mr. Merrick had to work at a freak show as an exhibit (I will officially be very angry if anyone makes jokes about this in front of me from now on). Have to have a boring conversation with a colleague or a relative? Until the age of 21 Mr. Merrick (whose mouth was deformed making speech very difficult to start with) was assumed to be an imbecile and didn’t have a single conversation in his life. And yet, despite all this, he was gentle, sensitive, loved the theatre, rejoiced like a child at the idea of having friends… Puts our mundane little problems in perspective, no? Personally, I doubt I could have been as gentle and as good a person as him if I had his problems…Watch and cry my dears. And repeat, whenever you feel you have the world on your shoulders…