The Elephant Man

David Lynch's 1980 film follows Joseph Merrick, exhibited as a show in nineteenth century London. A doctor brings him into a hospital. The way he is looked at does not change there either. The film makes curiosity and exhibition its real subject; the narrative builds Merrick not as an object of pity but as a thinking person. It was shot in black and white. John Hurt performs under makeup, and a separate Academy Award category for makeup was created after the film. It rests on a real person. Who it's for: those who like historical drama and Lynch's work. Who it's not for: viewers troubled by scenes of exhibition; the film does not avoid showing them.