The Elephant Man is a straightforward biopic about disfigured Joseph "John" Merrick and his struggles with social acceptance in a fascinating Victorian England setting. The story is brought to life by convincing acting, beautiful cinematography, and carefully crafted sets and makeup. All vain efforts, as the movie chose the most shallow writing and conservative approach to the subject. David Lynch contributes with some visually compelling shots and interesting sequences, but at the same time mostly restricts himself to paying homage to his favorite black and white age films. His elegant yet manneristic approach sometimes even ends up amplifying the kitsch, overly sentimental tone of the movie. Everything is so melodramatic that for a second I thought Lynch was just trying to be sarcastic and hint at the hollow, masturbatory charity fetishes of the middle class. But then, it would be hard to explain awkward scenes such as Merrick's "I am a man!!" burst at the station, or Michael Elphick's mandatory textbook cheesy villain appearances. I still managed to get emotionally invested with the film and, despite the slow pace, everything flows well enough. Just, for being a movie that was released in 1980 it looks and feels at least 40 years older, both formally and conceptually.

Great performances by John Hurt and a young Anthony Hopkins. The prosthetics on John Hurt must of taken forever to do. A sad story with a good message and an accessible movie by David Lynch.

'If Your Life Sucks, Watch this Movie' I highly recommend this film once because it is beautifully directed and a great story. But, unless you are a masochist, once is enough.

Simple film done perfectly Sad TEM acting perfect shockedness and powerlessness and ptsd Anthony Hopkins. 8/10Good ending no other way to end it

_The Elephant Man_ has many layers (interior / exterior beauty, human nature, voyeurism...) and each one slices my heart like a fine scalpel. This heart wrenching film of what men will do for and to each other grabbed me from the first scene and squeezed so hard I left the cinema exhausted and drained. _The Elephant Man- reminded me of my own ugliness, yet gave me hope that there's better things in store. I'm going through some difficult times at the moment and that I could forget about some of that shit so completely for 2 hours is one of the reasons I love cinema so absolutely, and this film in particular. Lynch holds up an unflinching mirror and forces us to look at our own deformities, and then dares us to accept them.