The Elephant Man’s Circus Act Struggles to Keep Audience Entertained

The Elephant Man

This month the LAMBs in the Directors Chair series is shining the spotlight on David Lynch. I decided to take advantage of this by finally watching one of the few films of his that I had yet to see, The Elephant Man. While I knew the film was based on a true story I really did not know what to expect based on the other Lynch films I had seen. David Lynch is one of those directors who can either blow you away with his brilliance (i.e. Mulholland Dr., Blue Velvet, etc.) or leave you scratching your head in confusion (i.e. Lost Highway). Surprisingly the film falls in the latter category for me but not for the reasons you might expect.

The Elephant Man tells the tale of John Merrick (John Hurt), a man suffering from a congenital disease, who spends the bulk of his life working in a “Freak Show” in 19th century Victorian England. Nicknamed The Elephant Man, Merrick must cover his face and body whenever he goes out in public. Disfigured and unable to speak clearly, Merrick is constantly abused and made fun of by most of society. It is only when a surgeon, Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins), takes an interest in Merrick does his life start to change. With the help of Treves and a highly regarded actress, Mrs. Kendal (Ann Bancroft), Merrick is able to experience life not as The Elephant Man but as a regular man.

Now it could be that my expectations were too high for the film, especially considering that the film received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, but The Elephant Man never really reeled me in. In fact, I was somewhat confused by what people found so fascinating about the film. Sure the Academy loves to heap praise on stories about individuals overcoming their disabilities, but there is nothing in The Elephant Man that has not been done better elsewhere.

The film feels stunted on several levels. It was as if Lynch was quickly giving the abbreviated “Cliff Notes” version of the events. Scenes do not flow into each other smoothly, conversations are abruptly ended for no reason, and ideas are never fully realized. A perfect example of this is when Treves stops for a moment to question who is really benefitting from his relationship with Merrick. One would expect this line of thought to be explored in greater detail but it is swiftly dropped and never really brought up again. Instead Lynch fills the screen with endless melodrama that is not particularly eventful.

David Lynch is a director who has proven over the course of his career that he can tell a straightforward dramatic story, most notably in the film The Straight Story, yet here he seems to be handcuffed creatively. There are glimpses of the David Lynch we have all grown to love, or hate depending on your viewpoint, in the dream sequence and the opening and closing of the film. Yet these moments are fleeting and there is very little that holds the distinctive Lynch stamp.

The saving graces in the film are the performances by Ann Bancroft and John Hurt. Bancroft in particular really surprised me in her brief role. She brought a level of humanity to the film that Hopkins never seems to achieve in his rather wooden performance. Hurt is also good as The Elephant Man though it is not until the halfway point that his performance really shines. Still these elements are not enough to cure the dullness of the film. Again, maybe my expectations of The Elephant Man were too high, but I just do not agree with the level of praise that most seem to see.

No matter how safe your house is, there’s always a way in

A week ago, I came home to discover that my house had been broken into, ransacked and robbed. I was frightened and upset. Someone had busted through the front door, stolen items dear to me, and left out the back. I felt shaken to the core because my personal space had been invaded and my personal belongings rifled through and strewn about.

While I cleaned up and put everything back in its place, I found myself thinking of Farrah Fawcett in Extremities. Although the kind of home invasion and attack Fawcett experiences in the film is an entirely different one than I faced, I found myself thinking about the unlikely twist the film takes when the tables are turned on the invader and he becomes the victim.

I remember how terrifying I thought the plot was when I saw Extremities for the first time. Fawcett plays Marjorie, a woman who is attacked and manages to escape her assailant, but not before he makes off with her purse. Now in possession of her personal identification and address, Marjorie fears that her attacker will find her to finish what he started. And he does. Marjorie’s attacker, Joe, breaks into her home and subjects Marjorie to vicious mental and physical assaults.

In a thrilling and unexpected twist, Marjorie overpowers Joe by spraying bug spray into his eyes, and manages to tie him up and hold him captive. What ensues next is a reversal of roles where Marjorie becomes the attacker and Joe the victim, as Marjorie subjects Joe to the same brutal assaults he subjected her to. Joe pleads for Marjorie to stop and is reduced to tears, while Marjorie contemplates whether to call the police who she fears might not believe that she was the original victim, and grapples with whether to release Joe or to kill him.

Thinking about the film Extremities now after experiencing a break-in makes the film seem even more chilling than before. The fear of knowing, of anticipating, like Marjorie did, that someone may invade your home is a terrifying notion. Sadly, the risk of a break-in and robbery exists for every homeowner, and even though it is a very real possibility, one’s sense of security isn’t threatened or lost until it happens and the possibility becomes a reality.

On Second Thought: Hudson Hawk

Hudson Hawk

When the guys over at the Midnight Movie Club podcast announced they were covering Hudson Hawk this season my first reaction was “that awful film?” Yet since Midnight Movie Club’s own Dan had expressed positive memories of the film, I decided to give Hudson Hawk another look 20 years later to see if the film aged better than I recalled.

The loosely woven plot centres around a cat burglar, Hudson Hawk (Bruce Willis), who is released from prison after ten years. Looking to finally go straight, Hawk only wants to drink his fancy coffees and spend time with his good pal Tommy Five-Tone (Danny Aiello). Yet, as with many films about characters trying to start a new life, Hudson Hawk is blackmailed by an eccentric couple (Richard E. Grant and Sandra Bernhard) to pull off one last job involving works created by Leonardo Da Vinci.

After 20 years, I must admit that my view on Hudson Hawk has softened a bit. Though the film is nowhere near The Last Action Hero, a film I hated when I first saw it but ended up loving on repeat viewings, I found myself engaged. It is a film that is sold as an action/adventure film but is really a screwball comedy. At times it feels like a cross between The Naked Gun films and The Da Vinci Code. Also, I never realized how funny some of Willis’ one-liners were in the film. Hudson Hawk works far better when you ignore all the plot holes and just focus on how zany everything is.

The major problem with the film is that it is hard to get past the ridiculous plot. Bruce Willis is credited with coming up with the story and it seems like he threw every idea crossed his mind into the film. Needless to say the story is a mess, there is so much nonsense going on that it is tough to keep straight what the actual pitch of the film is suppose to be. For example, the film features characters singing the insanely catchy “Swinging on a Star” song, eccentric CIA and Vatican agents, paralyzing blow-darts, bombs stuck in characters heads, jokes about the Pope’s television reception etc. This is the reason why I cannot fully change my stance on Hudson Hawk. The film is by no means good, but it is far more humorous now than it was 20 years ago.

Original Reaction: I would rather be a fish! (Grade: F)
On Second Thought: Still very flawed but funnier this time around. (Grade: C -)