CRITERION COLLECTION SPINE #105: THE ELEPHANT MAN (directed by David Lynch)
“I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man!”
A deformed man is scorned and shunned from society. Put in a freak show. Laughed at. Ridiculed. Believed to be damned, stupid, and depraved. Yet, when someone finally takes the time to understand this person, they find out that this deformed man isn’t quite so different. He may appear that way, but inside, he’s just as human as the rest of us, maybe even more so.
Now. Take the word “deformed” and replace it with a different race, or a sexuality, or a different gender. Any minority. That’s why this movie is a masterpiece. Anyone who has ever been the outsider and the outcast in society - this film and the story of John Merrick is for you. It speaks to the abnormalities of this world.
“People are frightened by what they don't understand.”
As a gay man, this movie destroyed me. There were so many parallels to be drawn between how gay people have been treated to how John was treated. So many scenes where I had to remove my glasses because they were fogging up so much that I couldn’t see the screen.
Beyond the message, the tone and atmosphere of this film is amazing. David Lynch always crafts a movie that is meant to be felt and experienced, and here is no different. The cinematography, the sound design, the lighting, and of course the costuming and makeup are all excellent.
You can’t talk about this movie and not talk about the sincere, honest, and heartbreaking performance that John Hurt gives as John (Joseph) Merrick. Behind all that makeup, you are still able to empathize and weep at this poor, misunderstood soul, who, above all else, just wanted love. And you loved him for that. You realized that while society called him a monster - the real monster, was society itself.
“My life is full because I know I am loved.”
I was profoundly moved by this film. I will be thinking about this movie, indeed, for a long time.
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