i'm currently 17 years old. when i graduate from high school, i want to go into psychology. i'm not sure what i would want to do specifically, but definitely something in that field. there's many factors that come into this. i've been witness to mental illness many times and have, mildly, gone through it myself. people have done or said certain things to me that i want a greater understanding of. i have an inherent desire to help those in need. i think my biggest pull towards it, though, is empathy. i as well as many others that i know have been treated without empathy several times. i myself have done so as well, even to people i love. empathy shapes us and without it we're nothing. there is no care or love without empathy, and no reason to exist without it. 

i watched this film for the first time when i was 10/11 years old. i don't remember much about seeing it, although i know it left quite an impression on me. it's a film i thought about a lot. not because it scared me, not because of how interesting the story was, and not because of the acting. rather the film allowed me to digest and fully understand the hardships of others, something i'd only been able to grasp intellectually rather than emotionally. of course i had seen many other films where people go through things, even true stories like this one. but the elephant man stood out, and the story of john (real name joseph) merrick did too. 

pretty much, this film instilled empathy in me and i can’t help but feel that i’d be a completely different person without it.

there is so much to commend here and much of it has been talked about at length. the way this film is shot and stylized like a monster movie and later subverts the tone it sets out in the beginning. how impressive the make-up is on john hurt. the incredible mix of classic lynch surrealism and a more straightforward narrative. hopkins’ amazing (his best, in my opinion) performance. and, of course, how radiantly empathetic it is. how much a simple gesture like a kiss can mean so much, how a gift can bring the world together, how recognition and respect can change a person. this is such a remarkably loving film. i love how it starts out in that aforementioned homage to classic monster movies but, as it goes along, steps away from that and becomes a humanizing portrait that is shot beautifully, yes, but stripped back from its original state.

this isn’t lynch’s best. mulholland drive, eraserhead, and blue velvet are all stronger films. however, no other film he’s made means as much to me as the elephant man does. it is his most beautiful film, purely elegant in how much of an outlier it is within his filmography.

the only thing stopping this from being a masterpiece is some of the pacing and structuring of scenes. they’ll end too abruptly after somewhat of a set-up, making them feel unnecessary and strange. i might not give this a 10, but i personally love it just as much as a film i would give one to.

the elephant man isn’t disturbing for the most part. the only times i was truly disturbed is in seeing merrick’s mistreatment at the hands of tormentors who didn’t regard him as human. one scene in particular might be the grossest and most disgusting lynch has ever gotten when it comes to an emotional, visceral reaction from me. 

i love this film with everything i have and it changed my life.