He's not an animal

Film: The Elephant Man
Rating: 3 out of 5

Titled after the nickname of its subject, The Elephant Man tells the shockingly true story of Joseph Merrick (here called John), a severely deformed man who grew up as a carnival attraction in 19th century London. It's hard to describe exactly what this film is. I suppose mostly it is a biography, but it is presented in a dark, theatrical style that would suggest otherwise. And even as bizarre and melodramatic as it is, there are moments that seem to hint at the twisted comedy route it could take. One would expect a director like David Lynch to be more indulgent in the visual mystery, but he instead recreates a 1940s feel to illustrate this petrifying and touching, but in many ways petty story.

At the age of 21, Merrick (Oscar nominee John Hurt) is rescued from his abusive guardian by the brilliant and compassionate surgeon Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins). The scientific community is stunned by Merrick's warped figure, in particular his abnormally gigantic skull, and many onlookers are nothing short of terrified. At first believing him to be effectively brainless, the hospital's board of directors wishes to expel him due to his incurability, but the determined Dr. Treves is able to uncover Merrick's gentle and refined mental state. As he befriends high-class members of London society like the actress Madge Kendal (Anne Bancroft), he is continually pestered and exploited by brutes like his former owner.

On a technical level, The Elephant Man justifies its great critical and commercial success. The makeup and performances are impeccable, the score is properly nightmarish, and the whole thing is shot in gorgeous black-and-white cinematography (booyah). But beyond that, nothing else resonates. There are moments later in the film that require us to still consider Merrick a monster, but the film as a whole does everything in its power to show us his humanity. All of the emotions come to an equilibrium, and we aren't left with much to take away.

So what conclusions can we draw? I fear the only one might be that this film amounts to just another lucrative exploitation of Mr. Merrick's agony, however unintentionally. No matter how affected we may be by his misfortune, the movie has no lessons to teach us from it.