The film begins with a beautiful woman's face, calm eyes staring at the viewer through the screen. In sharp contrast, there was a sound of heavy and regular footsteps coming from nowhere. Immediately afterwards, the picture cuts to the fat thigh of the elephant sideways, and then the footsteps get closer and closer... A hoarse roar breaks the undercurrent, and the camera slides from the long nose full of transverse flesh all the way to the elephant's face. A pair of hungry eyes, a mouth full of gluttony, approaching step by step... The woman's face appeared again, but this time it was no longer calm. At low shutter speed, proboscis waving, the woman has been pushed to the ground, shaking all over, eyes closed, shaking her head frantically in horror, screaming hysterically. The sense of hearing is dominated by the terrifying sound of the elephant, and the woman's silent scream not only highlights her powerlessness, but also renders the suspenseful atmosphere. A puff of smoke rises, and the picture returns to darkness.
The next scene has come to the circus. The crowd was crowded, the lights were flickering, and the balloons were flying. The young surgeon Tevez passed through the crowd, and following the voices of arguing in the distance, he saw the circus owner who was negotiating with the police. Police ordered the circus owner to shut down a show called the "freakshow", arguing that such an exhibit demeans the audience and the "exhibit" itself. The circus owner argued that "he's deformed, that's his way of life."
At this point in the film, we have not seen the true content of this "exhibit". But smart viewers can already guess that this born deformed person is the freak, the elephant man, born to the woman who was ravaged by the elephant in the first scene. His name is John, and because he was born deformed, he was used by the circus owner as a tool to make money, and his life was regarded as an anecdote, and he was imprisoned in the basement like an animal. And the doctor who works for the common people, Tevez, was shocked and saddened to tears when he saw John for the first time, and then spent money to adopt the elephant man and took him to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment . In the hospital, Tevez found that John was treated like an animal, but never lost his humanity. He insisted on reading the Bible and regained the ability to talk to people after a short training, which strengthened Tevez's determination to save him.
From Tevez, John received a love he had never felt before, and for the first time was treated like a "human", thus establishing a deep friendship with the doctor. And most of the doctors and nurses in the hospital, after getting along with him constantly, got rid of the initial fear and rejection of his appearance and accepted him. As a result, John's fortunes were reversed with the help of a kind doctor. He wore a decent suit, held a gentleman's scepter, was given an exquisite vanity case, received a kiss from a famous actress, and was granted permanent hospitalization.
Although in this ward built in the name of "charity", John still experienced "being watched" in another sense, and was only treated with kindness out of pity and sympathy, even when he was treated by a certain He is still powerless to resist the malice and abuse of some people, but his heart is already full of gratitude for having received love. When Tevez apologized for hurting him through his negligence, he said to Tevez from the bottom of his heart: "This is the happiest day of my life, my friend."
The film is undoubtedly kind. Although the sad background of the fate of the elephant makes any smeared colors appear dim, the "goodness" represented by the doctor in the film is not deconstructed (but there is a doctor's reflection on his own behavior motives), but is represented by the circus owner. The "evil" has also been punished. It can be expected that many viewers will make a fuss about the complexity of "goodness" and question the film's excavation of the depth of human nature, but I think that not all goodness must be deconstructed. This may be David Lynch's cruelty in life. A kind of tenderness of sex.
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