The Lynch Meditations 6: The Elephant Man (1980)

London, 1870s:
We begin inside a dream, a nightmare of stampeding elephants. We are inside the head of an unfortunate man who has been presented as the deformed son of a woman trampled by an elephant when she was four months pregnant by an unscrupulous freak show ringmaster. This story is, of course, nonsense concocted by the ringmaster, and the unfortunate man no doubt knows this story to be false, and yet he still dreams of elephants. You're told you're one thing for so long you may not start to believe it, exactly, but that's pretty much all you've got. And no matter how ridiculous, no matter how degrading, because that story is coming from the one person your survival depends upon, the one person who shows you some kind of attention, you internalize it, get used to it, grow into the role you've been assigned. This unfortunate man is John Merrick, the Elephant Man.

The Elephant Man-a man with hideous congenital deformities-is exploited for use in a freak show until he is rescued by a humane surgeon who studies this deformed man to increase his own prestige within the scientific medical community. But one form of exploitation is not equivalent to another. One is sheer brutality to make a buck, the other is tempered with compassion, mercy, and the hope that greater understanding of the Elephant Man's condition will benefit all humankind.

The surgeon-a Dr. Treves-is first seen wandering a carnival ground when he suddenly turns around, as though struck by a bolt from the blue, and begins to seek something inside the labyrinthine halls of a freak show. He journeys deeper into this maze, until he comes upon the threshold of the Elephant Man exhibit as it is being shut down by Old Bill for being too obscene, too grotesque. Later, Dr. Treves seeks the Elephant Man again in another labyrinth which almost seems like an unmasked version of the first labyrinth. The first one was decorated with theatrical flair; the second is a nasty, subterranean affair of brick and filth and shadows where John Merrick dwells in a miserable chamber tended by the cruel, drunk ringmaster and his child employee. Dr. Treves bribes the ringmaster to get a private exhibition of the Elephant Man. In glorious black and white, Merrick is revealed as a piteous living expression of physical suffering, and we see Dr. Treves, a model of British stoicism, shed tears in stricken silence.

Dr. Treves is magnificently played by Anthony Hopkins-Hannibal Lecter himself-who captures all the nuances and inner conflict of a British gentleman of the late 1800s who is expected to maintain control of his emotions at all times even when he is absolutely devastated by the sight of the afflicted Merrick. Dr. Treves is a model of exercising strength through a combination of intellect and compassion. He takes mercy on Merrick . . . and yet, his interest is also driven by a desire to make a medical breakthrough he can exhibit to his colleagues and take credit for research into the legion deformities with which Merrick suffers. Dr. Treves is aware of this contradiction inside himself, and, in an uncharacteristic show of vulnerability, asks his wife directly, "Am I a good man, or a bad man?" This new vulnerability and openness which gives him a quiet strength is set in motion by the time he spends with Merrick. Hopkins is perfect in every scene. For me, this is his finest film.

Merrick is played by John Hurt buried under prosthetic makeup that is indescribably grotesque. Do a google image search for "the Elephant Man," or "Joseph Merrick," which is the actual name of the real life Elephant Man. Hurt is one of those actors who never seemed to be driven by ego. He was the guy in Alien who had the alien baby rip its way out of his chest. And then he spoofed himself in Spaceballs. He played a doomed subject of totalitarianism in 1984, and the doomed figurehead of a totalitarian regime targeted by a determined anarchist revolutionary in V for Vendetta. He died this past year of pancreatic cancer. Hit up his filmography. Hurt was an actor's actor. He played just about everything, and he embodies Merrick, his physical difficulties, and his high-pitched voice as though they were all second nature to him.

Other standout performances include a hard-boiled Freddie Jones as the alcoholic ringmaster; a radiant Anne Bancroft as a theatre producer who befriends Merrick; and a delightful John Gielgud as Dr. Treves's rational, enlightened superior in the medical establishment.

The Elephant Man's strongest scenes depict Merrick's process of healing as he discovers his value as a human being with help from Dr. Treves and others who come like angels of mercy into his life.  Merrick is a man who has lived in a state of pure brutalization, and so he must learn what it is to be loved, and to love himself, and to have dreams and hopes for the future. The dark and twisted dream of a misbegotten child born of an elephant's hoof is displaced by new dreams of his own creation, that are more in tune with the reality of his humanity.

If the movie has a flaw, it has to do with that whole "based on a true story" thing. Do a little research, and you will pick up very quickly on what's fiction and what's somewhat factual here. On the whole, I think this movie is a credible dramatization of a process of healing, but it is most definitely not a documentary. The real story of Joseph Merrick, who only lived 27 years, is much more complex, and in some ways is at odds with this film version.

Another flaw is that some of the scenes are played for absolute historical realism, while others veer into melodrama that doesn't quite fit, although they are well played by the actors here. David Lynch's exacting direction almost makes it seamless. The understated dialogue, punctuated with outbursts of great intensity, also keeps things mostly on track.

These missteps are, for me, mostly forgivable.

Bottom line: this is Lynch's most nakedly compassionate, and humane film. Shot in glorious black and white, immaculately designed and lit; and acted to perfection, it is a haunting evocation of a healer descending into a hellish labyrinth of misery to rescue a suffering soul.

NEXT: 1/29/18: Dune (1984)

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