Apostrophe S

Imagine the ugliest person (physically) that you know. Now, multiply it by a thousand. Now, drive a truck over it about five times. You’ve got a pretty messed up person at this point, but your still nowhere near the uglinest of the Elephant Man as depicted in David Lynch’s film by the same name.

This tale of the world’s most deformed Englishman is a straightforward parable, frighteningly straightforward for David Lynch, who has managed to turn many a simple story into a hellish acid trip.

I say parable, because the Elephant Man’s deformity and plight has applicability to any number of physical and mental disabilities. It’s also a lesson about human motivation and how charitable we really are when we are acting charitable.

Overall, a rather slow, but not uninteresting black and white film — made in 1980, mind you!