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.

Movie Marketing Monday

Melancholia

Lars Von Trier + wonderful cast + Science Fiction = Me running to the theatre. Lars Von Trier is one of those directors whose films I will watch regardless. His work usually gets a strong reaction out of me.




Anonymous

Did Shakespeare really write all his works? I remember one of my university professors stating that he believed it was Christopher Marlowe who actually wrote the famous plays and poems. While I am not sure that Roland Emmerich, the man who brought us films such as Independence Day and 10,000 B.C., can get to the bottom of the debate, I am willing to see where this particular film takes us.

Pushed to Limit...I Lost Control

The Limits of Control


Many critics will say that it is far easier to talk about something you hate than it is to express why you loved a film. Well in the case of Jim Jarmusch's latest film, The Limits of Control, it is tougher talking about work that you disliked when it was made by people you normally love.

The story centres around a mysterious Lone Man (Isaach de Bankolé) who is sent to Spain to complete a job. While the nature of the job is not divulged to the audience at first, you get the sense that it is the type of work that can only be handled outside the realms of the law. In order for the Lone Man to complete his mission, he will have to exchange information with a series of individuals (Gael Garcia Benal, Twilda Swinton, John Hurt, etc.) and keep his mind pure of sexual temptation (Paz de la Huerto).

The Limits of Control is a film where the end result is not as important as the journey to it. To truly understand the journey, one must realize that the end result is being aware that our reality is not our reality. Confused? Well this type of philosophical discourse essentially makes up the majority of this film. Some of the discussions serve as clues to events that will happen later in the film; while others are merely random musings on everything ranging from the misuse of the word " Bohemian", when talking about artist, to this history of musical instruments.

If nothing else, The Limits of Control is easily one of the most quotable films of the year. Though you will have a heck of a time trying to figure out what all the lines mean in relation to the film. For example, Twilda Swinton's character remarks that "the best films are like dreams you are not quite sure you just had." The problem with this statement is the fact that the slow dreamlike nature, in which events unfold, is downright maddening. If anything it is a painfully slow nightmare is only scary due to how boring it actually is. Gael Garcia Benal offers up an enlightening pearl of wisdom in "everything changes by the glass you see it through." Despite all these deep and profound lines by time you reach the climax of the film, if you can even call it a climax, you realize that it all really boils down to a "I think I can, I think I can" moment. Where envisioning your goal allows you to achieve it.

I know some may argue that I am missing the bigger philosophical picture but I am not ashamed to admit I just did not get it. When Jarmusch's characters are not spewing cryptic philosophical rhetoric, the rest of the film plays like a silent travelogue for Spain. It is really tough to find the deeper meaning in a film when the one character who holds to key to everything, Bankolé's Lone Man, only manages a few words every twenty minutes. I was originally willing to give Jarmusch the benefit of the as he is a director I usually enjoy. Plus the cast featured many actors/actresses that I love. Yet it is tough to praise a film that feels like a warmed over David Lynch picture that was left in the philosophical oven for far too long. Due to the calibre of talent involved, The Limits of Control is one of the most disappointing films of the year.