The Elephant Man - The Film

            The Elephant Man was directed by David Lynch in 1980. It is a tragic film based on a true story set in the late nineteenth century. This film has a moving storyline about a man's struggle to fit in and to be classified as "normal" in society. The Elephant Man is however, a tale of the growth of a sentimental friendship between John Merrick and Dr Treves.
             John Merrick, played by John Hurt, is a middle-aged man with severe physical deformities covering ninety percent of his body. His owner, Bytes played by Freddie Jones, keeps him in a dingy room, and then charges the public to view his grotesque figure in his "freak show". Dr Treves, played by Anthony Hopkins, is sympathetic to this and takes him in to research the so-called "Elephant Man". Merrick is then taught to speak properly and behave in the "normal" fashion. Throughout the film Merrick is continually mocked for his disturbing features and his hermit nature. Sympathy versus empathy is depicted greatly in this movie. Although we don't know what it would feel like to be as shunted from the world as Merrick is, we empathise for him as we have all been in the situation before where you don't seem to fit in. We do, however, feel great sympathy for Merrick as we watch him continually be taunted for the way he looks. The particular scene, which I will be analysing, is the "Single Tear" scene - where Treves views Merrick for the first time. The look on Treves" face shows great sympathy as a tear slowly runs down his face.
             Tension; the techniques and dramatic events that are used to maintain audience interest. There are many points of tension in this scene, showed mainly between the relationship of Bytes and Merrick. When Merrick is bought into the scene it is obvious that he is treated poorly by the state of his room and the way that Bytes talks to him. Instead of asking politely to stand up, or turn around for Treves to see, Bytes screams at Merrick with harsh tonality whilst hitting his cane against the wall in an attempt to threaten Merrick into doing what he is told.