MUST SEE FILM #37: The Elephant Man

It plays like a child's fairy tale gone horribly, horribly wrong. This 1980 film by the master of innocence-lost, David Lynch, is a must-see for anyone who has ever felt left out or misunderstood.

You guys will soon learn that I am a big Anthony Hopkins fan. And I love this performance. It's the first truly great screen role of his career. His Dr. Treves is textured, subtle, totally likable and utterly dispicable, too.

And John Hurt as Merrick (aka Elephant Man) manages to pull of an amazing feat under all that makeup. He brings Merrick to life. Makes him human. At once repulses and attracts you. Be forewarned, he's creepy-looking. Hard to look at, actually. But stay with him. Notice Hurt's performance under that mask.

I saw John Hurt act in a one-act play at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston several years ago. He had just sold Harry Potter a wand as Mr. Ollivander in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. (He was in V for Vendetta most recently.) So he was pretty famous. But he wasn't too big to play the hell out of Andrei in Brian Friel's Afterplay. He was still working it--just as he did in The Elephant Man.

A lot of you guys will dig the whole David Lynch-weirdness thing. Others will see him as a total freak and would run from every Twin Peaks episode, screaming. Still, you should know his work. He's an important American filmmaker. The Elephant Man is a great place to start. If you find the film too creepy, follow with Lynch's The Straight Story. If you think that The Elephant Man is cheesy or not scary enough, I dare you to see Blue Velvet or Wild at Heart.