In Victorian London, a surgeon named Frederick Treves pays to examine John Merrick, a severely deformed man displayed in a traveling freak show. Treves assumes Merrick cannot speak or think. He is wrong. As the two men spend more time together, a friendship develops, and Merrick is revealed as a person of profound intelligence, sensitivity, and dignity. A biographical drama about what it means to see another human being clearly. The film is shot in black and white by David Lynch.
