Review of The Elephant Man (1980) by James K — 23 Mar 2013

I first saw this film many years ago and since then it's become quite iconic. There have been many comedy sketches based on the character of John Merrick (The Elephant Man in question); or rather John Hurt's superb portrayal I should say. There have also been several documentaries about the life of John Merrick and those that shaped his life. Needless to say I thought it about time I gave it another look when it appeared in the TV listings this week. Here's a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

John Merrick (John Hurt) is a man who has a disfiguring condition that leaves him at the whim of the unscrupulous. These include Bytes (Freddie Jones), who makes money by showing him off to the public as 'The Elephant Man'. But when surgeon Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) comes across him in a travelling show, he takes pity on him and takes him in. He lives at the hospital where Treves works, where he learns to speak and is soon turns out that he is actually quite intelligent. The head of the hospital, Carr Gomm (John Gielgud) agrees to let him stay and even see's off Bytes when he comes around looking for his 'golden goose'. Merrick continues to improve and even has visits from the great and the good; including actress, Mrs. Kendall (Anne Bancroft). But we haven't heard the last of Bytes quite yet, and with the unwitting assistance of the night porter (Michael Elphick), he gets back into the hospital... and it's on that cliff-hanger I'll leave it.

Filmed entirely in black and white I found this quite an interesting take on John Merrick's story. Of course a lot of poetic license is used, but the essence of the man and his story are there. I have to admit I love John Hurt's performance; I can't imagine anyone else getting that much emotion through so many prosthetics! Of the other performers, I thought Freddie Jones as the side-show entrepreneur was excellent also. Over all, although it does have its faults, I did enjoy this one; it's quite poignant in places and you find yourself really touched by John Merrick; a little over-long, but well worth a look.

SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDED.

My score: 8.1/10.