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The Appropriate Tune - "Elephant Talk" by King Crimson
Not everyone makes that jump from the minors to the major leagues. Josh Trank was an indie darling after the release of his film Chronicle, Disney was ready to give him one of the keys to the Star Wars castle, but then he took his first step out of the gate and he fell into a fantastic hole, gone forever until last year when he showed up with that Capone movie no one talks about. Contrast that with the Russo Brothers, directors of those paintball episodes on Community, and parlayed that into smacking life-size action figures around at Marvel. The movie business, like all businesses, is shitty and terrible, and to succeed in it depends a lot on how well you handle yourself under extreme pressure from the waves of bullshit. Trank couldn’t handle it and the Russos could, and we can see the results.
Then we have David Lynch. When he released his directorial debut Eraserhead in 1977 it quickly became one of the most successful independent films in the country, and big studios came calling, and yet it doesn’t feel like he ever stopped making indie films. The budgets grew larger of course, the actors more prestigious, he even tried his hand at a franchise, but David Lynch’s films always felt like David Lynch. He stuck to his guns, made the films he wanted to make (besides Dune I guess) and now he’s regarded as one of the great talents in American cinema, so all you young directors keep a stiff upper lip or whatever. So with only a few movies left to go before this blog closes its book on this icon of moving pictures, this year the Marathon is going to shine the spotlight on David Lynch’s big break. The film that proved Eraserhead wasn’t just a flash in the pan but the harbinger of a great talent. It’s still got weird stuff though, because hey, studios aren’t going to take that much of a risk.
Released in 1980, The Elephant Man was written by Christopher De Vore, Eric Bergen and David Lynch, directed by David Lynch and produced by Jonathan Sanger though Brooksfilms, based on “The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences” by Frederick Treves and “The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity” by Ashley Montagu. Anthony Hopkins plays Frederick Treves,, a young up-and-coming doctor taking in the local carnival when he comes across the greatest ‘freak’ of them all -- The Elephant Man, played by John Hurt, possessed of such serious physical deformities that it’s a miracle that he’s alive, as ironic as it might be to use that word in this case. Initially Treves is only interested in The Elephant Man, real name John Merrick, as a curiosity, something to trot out to his friends in the medical community as a example of how fucked up human anatomy can get, but as he spends time with Merrick he learns that this is not some abomination of nature, but a gentle, intelligent young man. Treves is touched by Merrick’s noble spirit, and as the story of the Elephant Man makes its way through the London media more people get to know John Merrick, and are changed in much the same way. Of course for all of those people who can see beyond Merrick’s appearance there are many who don’t, and they’ll do whatever it takes to see that last little spark of light within Merrick’s heart is snuffed out forever. Whether they will or not, however, remains to be seen.
The Elephant Man occupies an interesting place in David Lynch’s development as a filmmaker. More strait-laced than Eraserhead before it, not as ‘compromised’ by outside voices as Dune supposedly was after it, Elephant Man is at this crossroads that ends up making it feel unique to the filmmaker’s canon. There are aspects of the film that are distinctly Lynchian; The editing on the dream sequences, there’s the repeated focus on industry, the use of overwhelming silence, all things that would return in later films, it feels less like a predecessor to Blue Velvet and more like a long-lost Universal Monster movie, with the unfortunate John Merrick feeling perfectly natural alongside Frankenstein’s Monster and the Phantom of the Opera. Which to me is a treat, as it’s not often that we Lynch be so straight-forward in his storytelling, and so when they do touch upon those more standard Lynchian moments they stand out all the more.
It’s not often you see David Lynch doing period pieces either, although the steel-and-coal industrial hell that is Victorian London in this film is not far removed from the world of Eraserhead. We don’t get any big money scenic shots, in fact the film feels rather claustrophobic at times, but the scenes we do get are very well-crafted. It really does give the feeling of late 19th London, a character walks down a rain soaked street and you can almost smell the odor of human feces and rotting fish. The interiors look very good as well, sans Merrick’s bare bones room. Certainly an aspect of the film I wish we got even more of, but then I’ve always had a soft spot for that aesthetic.
Of course when you have a movie called The Elephant Man audiences expect an Elephant Man, and David Lynch and designer Christopher Tucker deliver on that. I mentioned the similarity between Merrick and the old Universal monsters, but John Hurt is transformed in a way that Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney never were, I honestly wouldn’t be able to tell you it’s him in the make-up if I didn’t know beforehand. As with Karloff before him though, it is really the strength of Hurt’s acting that brings this interpretation of John Merrick to life, drawing the audience in with only one eye and his voice. There’s also some great work here by Hannah Gordon (who plays Treves’ wife Ann), Freddie Jones (as the properly Lynchian freak show proprietor Mr. Bytes), and of course Anthony Hopkins as Fred Treves, but it is principally Hurt’s game to win, and he nails it.
If there is a problem with the film then, it’s one of momentum. While the basic idea of Merrick going from being regarded as a subhuman creature to being favored by the Queen and all is solid, there’s no real drive to it. Merrick is understandably a passive character, so things just sort of happen around him.which ends up feeling like you’re waiting around for things to resolve themselves. The greatest source of drama in this drama film comes from Mr. Bytes, which ties into a subplot with the night guardsman of the hospital that the film largely takes place in, but even that seems to be over as soon as it begins. There’s not much in the way of character development beyond Merrick either; Plenty of characters go from hating Merrick to liking him, but the only one to be given significant focus is Treves, who is conflicted over his friendship with Merrick and his nagging doubts that he isn’t any different than Bytes in the end. Except that doesn’t really go anywhere? He’s upset over it in one scene but then never brings it up again, and he never really acts any different. The film makes a big deal about this mirroring the actual events of Merrick’s life and that’s fine, there’s no need to invent a love interest for the Elephant Man or something like that, but it does have this sedate quality that demands you fall into its pace more so than other drama films. Even other dramas by Lynch in this case, as The Straight Story has a similar energy level and yet because the film is predicated on the journey the audience doesn’t feel like it’s just waiting around for something to happen.
That being said, I’m giving The Elephant Man the recommendation. It’s not the film I would choose to showcase David Lynch the auteur, but it’s a solid film and the performances, the make-up design, the cinematography, the music are all good. Moreover it’s a significant film, one that shows that Eraserhead wasn’t a fluke and that David Lynch was a director to watch out for, as long as he was given the tools and the opportunity to succeed. So if you’re in a chill mood this Halloween, maybe up for a good cry, or if you’re actually Karl Pilkington, you should pop in The Elephant Man and see how the night goes. You just might enjoy yourself.
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