The Elephant Man

David Lynch 
photographed by Freddie Francis 
London England 1980

For many years my least favorite of Lynch’s films (though it was easily supplanted by Wild at Heart since first viewing,) the Elephant Man always struck me as overly fond of the benevolence of the Ruling Classes and contemptuous of the Working Poor.  Perhaps I misread Lynch’s intentions in these matters, or confused the character of the Elephant Man with his story.  Given a recent opportunity to see it again under relatively good circumstances, I decided to watch it with a more open mind and came away with a better view of it, especially in light of Lynch’s recent Twin Peaks: the Return.  One may recall a character in the Return called Freddie Sykes, whose presence in that story perplexed many viewers.  He seemed to me at the time a belated attempt to rectify Lynch’s injustice to the Working Class characters of this earlier movie.  Perhaps, though, Freddie was put in the Return (which could have been more aptly called the Retrospective) to correct my (and others') misreadings of Lynch’s first mainstream hit.  It really does seem that it’s Merrick’s desire to emulate the manners and customs of the Upper Class characters who patronize him that breaks his spirit, compels his suicide and finally breaks his neck.