David Lynch’s The Elephant Man (1980) reminds of how a kind act can go a long way. Everyone knows some elephant man, someone who is mocked, scorned, disliked and needs someone to love him or her.
The message of the film is simple: do unto others. It also displays the powers of love. Love is the best gift that a person can give another, and love is what makes the elephant man, John Hurt, feel alive and actually a human being. There is also a religious element to the film. The elephant man suffers the most atrocious beatings yet remains humble beyond any other. Instead of bitterness, the elephant man displays kindness and gentleness. He suffers scorn in a way similar to Jesus, and instead of revenge, they both become humble. Only through love is the elephant man saved, it not through anything that he does. This is a Christian idea and a Christian attitude.
Dr. Frederick Treves, Anthony Hopkins, shows the elephant man this love. He struggles with the thought that maybe he is as bad as the elephant man’s previous owner. They both seem to put the elephant man on display for the world. It is love that separates Dr. Frederick Treves from the last owner. Treves gives the elephant man love and a life of his own.
The Elephant Man (1980) has its touching and its heartbreaking moments. I do not think that the atmosphere created by the slow pace fit the plot perfectly. Also, there were many places where the film could have ended. Ten of the last scenes end with a false fade out where we think the movie is over. The film could have ended on any of these points, for I do not think that the real ending added much.
~Kristen Gorlitz