Review of The Elephant Man (1980) by Harry W — 20 May 2013

David Lynch's skill for brutal surrealism makes him the ideal director for The Elephant Man.

The surrealism used to tell the story of Joseph "John" Merrick is distinct of David Lynch's work and is rich with a mysterious sense to it, which really puts the theme of The Elephant Man into perspective. His direction of such a touching story is executed very well and makes the story multi-dimensional, so is undoubtably worthy of an Academy Award nomination.

Like the majority of David Lynch's films, The Elephant Man is a twisted story, although only on the surface because as it dives into the depth John Merrick, we uncover a beautiful side to the man considered repulsive on the surface whose souls is right with passion and emotions are more human than many of the other's in the film.

The script helps all the actors understand the characters, and it does the same for the audience so that the viewers get a clear understanding of the story and embrace the heart of John Merrick as well as Frederick Treves for his empathetic actions. The actors make it all the more easy.

John Hurt's performance as the titular Elephant Man Joseph "John" Merrick was great because along with the complex makeup, his performance worked alongside it to ensure the feel of the character was convincing, speaking though he had a serious deformity and following his prosthetic makeup with physical acting very well, and it has to be astoundingly difficult to act underneath that much costume and makeup, but if John Hurt can pull through, he deserves an Academy Award nomination for best actor, and he did and he received one.

I also felt a nomination was deserved for Anthony Hopkins' fine performance. He wasn't faced with the challenge of acting through that much prosthetic makeup, but to have to play a character that stands out as one of the few to sympathise with a man treated as such an outcast by the rest of society. Anthony Hopkins gives one of his most kind and sentimental performance from before he gained a legacy as famous villain Hannibal Lecter, and he becomes all too separable thanks to his role in The Elephant Man, one rich with emotional power and humanity, one all too memorable even with the unforgettable lead from John Hurt. The Elephant Man features one of Anthony Hopkins' finest.

John Gielgud and Anne Bancroft were also good in their respective roles.

The technical side of The ElephantMan Man is massively successful due to the decision to create a surreal and dark atmosphere with the Black and White visuals, and the way that sequences are edited excellently against the backdrop of a magnificent musical score and the famous piece that was later used in Platoon known as Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber, as well as a fine general score by John Morris.

The cinematography is also excellently put and keeps the audience level with the characters in the sense that it stays at their head-heights constantly so it's like the audience is witnessing everything from a first person perspective, which really sets the mood for the story greatly as well as the rest of the aforementioned technical achievements.

But the single finest one that also has the legacy for being the reason that Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling was created, and that's the prosthetic makeup used to convince the audience that the real John Merrick is present in the film. The makeup is almost shocking in how convincing it is, being brutally realistic and just absolutely excellent, the finest money can buy. The Elephant Man proves that 1980 was a breakthrough year for prosthetic makeup, and it really deserved an Academy Award for that.

So the simple and stylish tale of John Merrick is told very well by David Lynch and is technically appealing as well as finely acted.