Quick Links What Is 'The Elephant Man' About? Lynch Deconstructed Disability Narratives With 'The Elephant Man' 'The Elephant Man' Is Pure David Lynch

One of the all-time greats has left us. David Lynch, a master of surrealist and abstract cinema, sadly passed away this week at the age of 78. To put it simply, he had a style all his own, defined by dream logic and a deft mix of psychological terror with dark humor, and he was arguably one of the only contemporary filmmakers who could genuinely be called a "visionary." On top of directing some of the greatest movies of all time, namely Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr., he was also the genius behind Twin Peaks, one of the most influential TV shows in history.

Yet maybe Lynch's most underrated work of all was one of his first and one of his most straightforward. In 1980, shortly after garnering critical attention with his debut feature Eraserhead, Lynch was hired by Mel Brooks' production company to helm The Elephant Man. The film, loosely based on the life of John Merrick, a physically deformed man in Victorian-era London, was arguably Lynch's mainstream breakthrough, and to this day, it remains the most purely heartbreaking of his career.

The Elephant Man DramaBiography

Release Date October 10, 1980 Runtime 124 Minutes Cast Anthony Hopkins , John Hurt , Anne Bancroft , John Gielgud , Freddie Jones , Michael Elphick , Hannah Gordon Main Genre Drama What Is 'The Elephant Man' About? Close

The story kicks off when London surgeon Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) attends a traveling freak show, where he becomes fascinated by one of the visibly disfigured performers, John Merrick (John Hurt). He promptly brings Merrick to his hospital for examination, even as his colleagues assert there's no possible cure for his condition. However, Treves gets local recognition upon realizing that Merrick is, in fact, incredibly intelligent and well-spoken.

Treves' public reputation grows exponentially, and Merrick quickly becomes the talk of high society. Despite this, Treves' patrons also start to worry that, well-intentioned as Treves may be, he's inadvertently creating a new form of exploitation for Merrick, putting him on display in a similar manner as the sideshow. Additionally, the freak show ringmaster Bytes (Freddie Jones) is intent on reclaiming his main attraction, and he attempts to kidnap Merrick even after he's been granted official residence at the hospital.

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If this sounds like misery porn, it's anything but. Make no mistake, The Elephant Man is one of the saddest films ever made, but every step of the way, it prioritizes John Merrick's humanity over the cruelty done to him. Because he's been treated like a freak his entire life, he's been given good reason to hate the world, and yet he always chooses to see the best in others, particularly Treves.

Consider an early scene in which Merrick has tea with Treves and his wife. Overwhelmed by their kindness, he shows them a photograph of his mother, to whom he always feared being a disappointment. He remarks, "If only I could find her, so she could see me with such lovely friends here now, perhaps she could love me as I am." It's a film that's so heartbreaking because we come to care about Merrick through his desire to be accepted, not through the hardships he faces.

Lynch Deconstructed Disability Narratives With 'The Elephant Man' Close

Films like The Elephant Man, which focus on characters with physical or mental impairments, often come with a huge risk. It's too easy for writers to define the character solely by their condition or to lionize their adversities, and while it's rarely born out of ill intent, it too often feels patronizing. It's especially a risk for directors to emphasize the technical aspects of a disability, specifically the makeup or the physical work of the actors (who too often aren't actually disabled). As such, it can often feel like voyeurism, even for films like these that still work overall.

Part of what made The Elephant Man so brilliant was how aware of these trappings Lynch was. True, John Hurt wasn't actually physically disabled and thus had extensive makeup work done (the film is actually a big reason the Makeup category exists at the Oscars after the Academy failed to recognize it), but the concept of voyeurism is one of the film's central themes. While there's no doubt that Treves means well and cares about Merrick, it's clear that his reputation directly benefits from his presence and that he's also made his friend a prize to be "looked at."

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There's a reason Merrick's emotional breakdown near the end hits so hard when he screams at a surrounding crowd, "I am not an elephant! I am a human being! I am... a man!" No matter who it's from, and whether for good intentions or bad, Merrick can't help but be gawked at for his appearance when underneath, he's more human than anyone else in the film. Thus, it hits even harder in the final scenes, when Treves finally treats Merrick as an equal on the last day of his life, showing that he's genuinely loved.

'The Elephant Man' Is Pure David Lynch Close

On paper, all of this sounds incredibly straightforward, if still immensely affecting. Yet The Elephant Man is a biopic as only David Lynch could've made one, as the proceedings are bookended by a couple of surrealist sequences featuring Merrick's mother. These moments allow us insight into his psychology, specifically his longing for her acceptance, and like all of Lynch's best work, it defies rational explanation and functions on emotional and dream logic.

On paper, The Elephant Man is unlike Lynch's other works -- except in quality. It's an intelligent deconstruction of disability narratives, a heartbreaking character study, and one of the best films of David Lynch's career. The Elephant Man is streaming on Kanopy.