Review of The Elephant Man (1980) by Nate P — 03 Nov 2010

Unlike most Lynch films, this is straight-forward & to the point, backed up with audacious sadness of fateful cruelty.

Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs,"--that is the role film-buffs will unanimously vote for in the contexts of Anthony Hopkins most prestigious character portrayal. Lecter is a wickedly smart, but psychotic doctor that possesses a unique ability of creating suspense out of the sheer movement of his creepy, yet quiet voice, in addition for having a nerving-wreck for cannibalism and murder. Simultaneously, Hopkins has consistently won numerous awards and has received prestigious recognition for this specific portray as Dr. Lector. Coming to think of this, there is that strong feeling that other roles by Anthony Hopkins will always be overshadowed by this specific role. Specifically his role as the good-samaratian doctor who completly changes the life of a famous 19th Century deformed human being, "The Elephant Man.".

The Elephant Man is someone who has endured abuse his entire life for the deformity of his oddly shaped head (somewhat similar to that of an elephant) and the pervasive bumps that cover up his face. Before the savior by Hopkins, he was a contender in the so-called "freak shows," which inhibited back several centuries. The Elephant Man's trainer/abuser would show him to largely populated audiences who paid money to see the deformed elephant man. People are just completely shocked after they see how severe the physical deformity is. Watching the humiliation that the elephant man was enduring, I felt so more empathy for him than any other film character that seeks to exist. It just made me so sad and frustrated how society was treating a person with a severe physical disorder, who is still a human-being after all!! Let's all hope that we can learn from this film that you just gotta accept others, regardless of any physical condition they might have. Human-beings uprightly deserve equal and justified respect, under all circumstances. Unfortunately, that will seek to exist.

Anthony Hopkins shows more kind and bravery by giving the Elephant man an opportunity to show-off what good he can do for society. And by God, he can do a hell-of-a-lot!! We watch this fascinating human-being constrict models, speak in polite and clear terms, & show us all that "I am not a freak, I am a human being!!!"--he did show us indeed. Bravo Elephant Man, Brave.