“I would be measured by the soul. The mind's the standard of the Man” – Isaac Watts “But…the patronage and the success of quacks and quackeries are infinitely more wonderful than those of honest and laborious men of science.” – P.T. Barnum Cinema, like any other art form, is often best when it functions as a form of escapism. Many of my favorite films of all time, from Star Wars to Avengers, effectively transport me out of the real world and into a fantastical, fictional reality filled with starships and superheroes. Some critics and cinephiles find this form of film to be less-than, which I tend to think is ridiculous. But sometimes, the best of cinema is that which reflects the grueling realities of our lives and societies in order to grapple with issues that affect us in our everyday lives. I like that kind of movie, too…when done right. Today, I want to reflect on two movies that take very different approaches to highlighting the experiences of a specific group of human beings that have existed throughout history, currently exist, and will continue to exist long after we’re gone― “freaks of nature.” To be clear, I do not use this term with malicious intent but rather as a means to reflect upon how those with physical deformities and abnormalities have been “othered” since the first human-centric sideshow attraction was conceived of. Within the last year, I have watched two movies that deal with this subject in VERY different ways: David Lynch’s black-and-white drama The Elephant Man, and Michael Gracey’s musical biopic The Greatest Showman. Which one (in my humble opinion) does justice to the deformed, and which one squanders any chance of being deemed respectful in its portrayal? You’ll have to keep reading to find. So, without further ado…LET’S GET STARTED! Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay The Elephant Man (1980) Film producer and Brooklyn native Jonathan Sanger (Vanilla Sky, Marshall) was given a script by his babysitter. Written by relatively unknown screenwriters Christopher Devore and Eric Bergren, the script adapted the real-life story of Englishman Joseph Merrick who suffered from severe deformities and was a freak show attraction before going to live at the London Hospital where he was studied by, and became friends with, surgeon Frederick Treves. At the time, Sanger was an assistant director for Mel Brooks (The Producers, Blazing Saddles) during the production of Brooks’s film High Anxiety. Sanger showed the script to Brooks, who loved it and decided to produce the project through his new company Brooksfilms. After his personal assistant suggested David Lynch (Blue Velvet, The Straight Story) to be the director (whom Brooks had never heard of), Sanger arranged a private screening of Eraserhead, Lynch’s directorial debut, for Brooks. Meanwhile, Sanger met privately with Lynch to show him the script and loved many of his ideas for the project. Brooks loved Lynch’s film, and Lynch loved the script: The Elephant Man was becoming real. In addition to directing and contributing to the screenplay, Lynch supervised the musical and sound direction for the film (he even tried doing the make-up himself, which ended up failing). Instead, Christopher Tucker (Star Wars, The Company of Wolves), a renowned make-up artist, was hired to create the prosthetic for the eponymous “Elephant Man.” Tucker’s prosthetic work on the project was universally acclaimed, and protest letters were sent to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences deriding the fact that he would not receive a special award. In response, an Oscar category for Best Makeup was created the next year. John Hurt (Midnight Express, Alien, The Field), the actor hired to portray Joseph Merrick, would arrive on set every day at 5 a.m. for approximately seven hours of prosthetic make-up application. After shooting his scenes for ten hours a day, it took another two hours for the prosthetics to be removed. After the early days of principal photography, Hurt called his girlfriend and said, “I think they finally managed to make he hate acting.” After principal photography was complete, Lynch and Sanger screened the film privately for Brooks, who only suggested some minor cuts but assured them that the film would be released intact. Notably, Brooks was not credited as a producer per his own request because he did not want audiences to see his name associated with the movie and enter the theater assuming that it would be a comedy. The Elephant Man premiered in October of 1980, grossing about 26 million dollars in North America on a five-million-dollar budget. Upon release, the film was mostly praised by critics with many highlighting Hurt’s and Anthony Hopkins’s lead performances and the cinematography by Freddie Francis (Sons and Lovers, Glory). Notably, however, Roger Ebert found the film thematically confused. Nevertheless, the film tied Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull for the most nominations at that year’s Academy Awards (including Best Director, Best Actor for Hurt, and Best Adapted Screenplay), but ended up winning none of the eight that it was nominated for. I do not consider myself to be a fan of David Lynch. I have failed to watch most of his films to completion because I find myself either dozing off, bored out of my mind, or utterly dumbfounded at his surrealist style of storytelling. In that sense, I was shocked when I found myself fully gripped by and invested in The Elephant Man. It is an exceptional film in more ways than one: the performances (notably the leads) are all great, the production design is more-than-serviceable, and the use of black-and-white adds a gritty realism to Merrick’s story that would come off to me as pretentious and try-hard in many other films. There’s a lot to like about this film, but what I love most about it is how the story of Merrick’s life is told. We follow Merrick from his days as a nearly-mute piece of entertainment to a sympathetic patient to an empowered man with a blossoming personality and people to call true friends. In other words, the writing, Lynch’s direction, and Hurt’s performance humanize Merrick and make him more than just a novelty of history or a “freak of nature.” Rather, the character transcends his outward appearance and identity to become a living, breathing person representative of the struggles of those like him from the dawn of mankind. For this reason, among others, The Elephant Man succeeds as a “freakshow” movie because it strips any pretense of who John Merrick should be given all of the abuse he suffered. Instead, Hurt plays him as a man with a quiet, inner dignity and genteel outlook on life that serves as a shining example of what true heroism looks like. The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby put it another way at the time: “Throughout the film one longs for an explosion. That it never comes is more terrifying…than John Merrick's acceptance of the values of others is inspiring.”[1] Needless to say, The Elephant Man accomplishes what many other films about real people (specifically abnormal people) struggle to do. But don’t take my word for it; check it out for yourself to experience the absolute near-perfect that this movie is. Image by Jonggun Go from Pixabay The Greatest Showman (2017)
During rehearsals for the Oscars ceremony in 2009, film producers Laurence Mark (Jerry Maguire, Bicentennial Man) and Bill Condon (Chicago, Dreamgirls) observed how much Australian actor Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables, X-Men: Days of Future Past) was similar to the stage persona of 19th-century showman P.T. Barnum. As Jackman expressed interest in playing Barnum, Mark and Condon hired Jenny Bicks, one of the writers of the Oscars ceremony that year, to co-write a screenplay about Barnum with Condon. The project was in development for seven years before a director was secured, a cast was chosen, and the songs were written. Principal photography took place in the fall of 2016 in New York City, and The Greatest Showman was released in December the next year. While it grossed over 400 million dollars on an 84-million-dollar budget, the film was largely scorned by critics for its shallow, oversentimental, and simplified portrayal of Barnum’s life and personality. However, some critics argued that the film was either effective as pure entertainment or clever subversion of Barnum’s darker side by glamorizing his story in a way that only he could appreciate fully. When I sat down to watch The Greatest Showman less than a year ago, I did not expect to love it. But I did think I would be entertained by it, and for awhile I was. Jackman certainly brings all of his effervescent charm in a full-throated effort to make Barnum the character likeable. Furthermore, the production values and music are enough to distract me from my vomit-inducing disgust towards the film. But only for awhile. The Greatest Showman is ultimately a failure because it does the opposite of what Lynch and Hurt did in The Elephant Man. Rather than humanizing its “freaks of nature” by telling their stories and allowing the social commentary to flow organically, this movie uses the “freak” characters (notably Keala Settle’s Lettie Lutz, the “Bearded Lady”) as tools to convey in-your-face lessons about tolerance and self-empowerment through song. On top of that, the film strips any nuance and intrigue from Barnum’s real-life story and transforms him into a fantastical cartoon (albeit a charming one). All in all, the movie (in my humble opinion) fails in almost every way to deliver a heartwarming or interesting story about social outcasts. I don’t think I need to tell you which of these films I liked better. 😊 Which of these films do you think more effectively tells stories about “freaks of nature”? What other movies that deal with this subject would you recommend? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst [1] Canby, V. (1980, October 03). 'Elephant man,' study in genteelness. Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/1980/10/03/archives/elephant-man-study-in-genteelness.html
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Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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