David Lynch's "The Elephant Man"

David Lynch's 1980 film "The Elephant Man" presents an interesting case in analysis of melodrama due to it being based on a true story. What details the film chooses to include about Joseph Merrick's (known as the Elephant Man) life, as well as what artistic and creative liberties were taken by Lynch and his screenwriters is a good insight into determining how we feel emotion and react to film.

The film tells the story of Joseph Merrick, a disfigured orphan who lives as a traveling freak in carnivals and shows. Merrick is abused by his owner and lives a very painful life until Dr. Frederick Treves discovers him, and gives him shelter at the hospital. Though publicly ridiculed, Merrick begins to show Dr. Treves what a bright, genuine person he is and the two begin to have a friendship.

Even within a historical drama film character's traits and actions can be excessive in order to allow them to fit certain character archetypes. The first character who was changed by the screenwriters was Mr. Bytes. Mr. Bytes is known as "the ringmaster" and is based off of Tom Norman, Merrick's former owner. The ringmaster is the manifestation of evil, he beats Merrick constantly, cheats him out of money and food and is always trying to kidnap him back from the hospital even when sick. Mr. Bytes even wears a top hat, he has shaggy clothes, hair and a beard. The film portrays the character as a drunk, money grubbing lowdown person in society to act as a foil for Merrick's kind nature.

A nameless man who hangs out in the pub, and is a former security guard of the hospital acts in the same way as a foil to Merrick. The unnamed character has no counterpart in Merrick's real life and is instead a manifestation of the nosy, obsession with freaks that the public has. The man at the pub is constantly offering to take people up to Merrick's hospital room in exchange for cash, he intimidates and scares Merrick with surprise visits and threats.

The character of Merrick is also portrayed in a way to represent goodness and innocence. Although we know Joseph Merrick was a very intelligent, calm young man, the movie presents him as some sort of prophet or idol. Merrick can do no wrong in the film and is conveyed as a well adjusted yet cowardly man. In reality Merrick was severly depressed and left the hospital and his friend Dr. Treves many times. Merrick claimed to have felt as much as an animal being showcased in the hospital as he was showcased in freakshows.

Ultimately the way the screenwriter wrote these characters based on true living beings allows the film to meld into a melodramatic film. Portraying a true story as a dramatic film means that the story is realistic in nature, but often has excess and exaggeration sprinkled in, which aligns itself with the ideas of melodrama.