The Man Who Left Me Melancholic

The Man Who Laughs (1928)

The Man Who Laughs is a film that first came to my attention as I scrolled through my LinkedIn feed. A fellow cinema buff had written a super engaging piece on Paul Leni’s adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel, and I was intrigued. It took me a while, but I finally watched it, and despite being categorized as horror-romance, The Man Who Laughs left me with a distinct feeling of melancholy rather than fear.

The protagonist of this tale, Gwynplaine, is known for his stretched grotesque grin( which inspired DC’s iconic Joker), which invites laughter and ridicule everywhere he goes. The only person in his life who appears to ‘see’ Gwynplaine for who he is rather than just his grin is his beloved Dea. His struggle with his appearance is beautifully visualised throughout the film and lends it a certain poignancy, which left me feeling melancholic even after the film’s 110-minute long run.

While most people tend to focus on Gwynplaine’s horrifying smile which would, I suppose, unnerve most viewers. The insight into his pain and self-doubt helps create a multi-dimensional character. Gwynplaine’s love for Dea, whose blindness allowed him to hide his smile from her, is tender and pure. And watching him slowly come to accept himself, to go from drawing her hands away every time they wandered too close to his smile to finally allowing her to ‘see’ what others did, was satisfying and beautiful.

The Man Who Laughs, however, goes beyond the journey of self-acceptance. This film continuously shines a light on the petty cruelty of those in power and society as a whole. It highlights the human tendency to reject all that is different and the willingness to tarnish innocence to realise selfish goals.

For me, the strength of The Man Who Laughs was its ability to make me empathise with the characters on screen, rather than its ability to generate fear. It is a film that I am sure to revisit multiple times throughout the years, so it’s fair to say that it’s worth a watch!