Review of The Elephant Man (1980) by Martin S — 22 Sep 2009
I did like this film for what it was, but thinking about it later, it's kind of shallow and manipulative. First off, the character of Bytes is quite awful, especially since there was no precedent in Merrick's real life.
Why is he in there? So there is a stock villain to root against? I get that he mirrors Treves' personal journey, but there's no reason for him to pop up again and again. The performances are great, the movie moved along, but in the end I had a vaguely Ron Howard taste left in my mouth.
Everything was too obvious- the theme of inner beauty over outer, the sympathy to be stirred up for Merrick, the problems of a society that values looks over intelligence (and forces a smile when confronted with this problem).
What is supposed to be the triumphant scene in the film ("I AM NOT AN ANIMAL... I AM A MAN!") is almost laughable in its cheesiness. In my other reviews of Lynch I found him to be too purposefully weird just for the sake of it, but in this film, he's too Hollywood.
He has to find a place to strike some sort of middle ground.This is superficially enjoyable in a feel-good kind of way. It's competently directed and acted. But I know that deep down, Lynch is capable of better.
This review of The Elephant Man (1980) was written by Martin S on 22 Sep 2009.
The Elephant Man has generally received very positive reviews.
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