The Shape of Water Review

R:  for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence and language

Fox Searchlight Pictures, TSG Entertainment

2 Hrs and 3 Minutes

Dir: Guillermo del Toro  | Writers: Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor 

Cast: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer

INTRO: Visionary director Guillermo del Toro has been very busy this year. His show “The Strain” concluded, the second season of his Netflix family series “Trollhunters” is going to drop soon, and of course, he’s brilliantly voicing his opinion on politics off his Twitter. But we all know what we want from del Toro, and that is his a visually enticing movie filled with creepiness and imagery that will be stuck in your head forever. His last film, “Crimson Peak” was which was a ghost story was an example of style over substance. Now he has a fairy tale called “The Shape of Water” which may be the most balanced film with both style and substance since….”Hellboy II: The Golden Army.” 

Damn. Nearly ten years. 

From master storyteller, Guillermo del Toro, comes THE SHAPE OF WATER - an other-worldly fable, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa's life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.

THE GOOD

TIME TRANSCENDS RELATIONSHIPS

Like other del Toro stories, the film is set before way before our time that we live in today which is specifically 1962.  The movie never says when precisely that this film takes place but asks you to figure it out for yourself. Besides the romance story of Elisa being put into the foreground, one of the best aspects of the film is the friendships she has with the people around her.  The people she surrounds herself with are very eccentric and interesting people. Her best friend at home who is also her neighbor is an old gay man named Giles (played wonderfully by Richard Jenkins) who is in love with black and white musical cinema and her best friend at work is a hard-working African American woman named Zelda (played by Octavia Spencer). I would say she is an Octavia Spencer type, but Spencer has been in so many roles where she excels past the stereotypical black woman role, and this is one of those roles. 

They are humorous and lively and well woven into the story because and break through the barriers of stereotypes because of two factors: the period and their relationship with Elisa. One of the biggest overarching themes in this story is acceptance. The reason why these two characters are effective is because of how kind and amiable they are towards her. Even though she is mute, they're able to communicate with her perfectly and treat them like they would treat their fellow man. This is during the time where people discriminated homosexuals and African-Americans who were treated like as if they were monsters. You don't see it much with Zelda (though there are moments of racism) but its largely displayed with Giles. It helps with the theme of acceptance and their character motivations to help Elisa find her happiness.It has so many elements and issues of discrimination that reflect today both intentionally and unintentionally which helps benefit this odd story to being a timeless classic.

LOUD PERFORMANCE, LITTLE DIALOGUE

This is hands down one of Sally Hawkins' best roles of her career and she never even says a word. We know how Hawkins sound like but just to see her flawlessly express her dialogue through sign language is magnificent. There is a scene where she’s acting her ass off as she expressly explains how she feels about The Asset and it really just gives give you chills because all of her dialogue is in sign language. For a long time, you’re so drawn to her performance that you believe that Hawkins is mute. In a MoMA Q&A I attended, del Toro revealed that he made Hawkins study silent film legends of the past including Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, and Charlie Chaplin to help get a sense of the character and how her performance should be. Well now knowing this kind of makes one convinced that Hawkins stayed up for weeks studying these films like it was a college assignment and it all paid off. Her character Elisa is a relatable loner. She works hard, she takes care of her friends, and tries to make sure she has time for everything including self-pleasure time (which is like highly relatable). So when she begins to have romantic feelings towards the creature in the facility she works at, it's understandable why she does.

ALL ABOUT BALANCE

If all we’re going to get from now are on are R-rated films from del Toro, then I would want them to all feel like this where it is realistic and has a human theme within the realm of weirdness. Its as if del Toro saw “Beauty and the Beast” and literally said that his next film would be, “The Mute and the Missing Link Monster.” On the surface, this might be a strange story especially considering that there is an intimate scene between Elisa and The Asset (Don’t worry you don’t see any creature-human sex scene) but some way the romance between Elisa and the monster is believable. It earns your emotion for you to root for them the entire way through. Director Guillermo del Toro does a brilliant job displaying characters motivations and fleshing them out at on a complex degree. Some of their arcs are done by the second act, and then some go on for a while, but it does progress the story and the urgency.  

The film has the visual beauty of "Pan’s Labyrinth" mixed in with "Crimson Peak" and the comedic tone of a "Hellboy" movie. While some of his past films were imbalanced with more thrills than a steady tone, this knows what it's trying to go for and excels at it. There is a balance with both the thrills, the humor, and the intensity. The story is predictable but the lengths it goes by having all of these likable characters helmed by a remarkable performance by Hawkins. At a certain point in all gears shift every character to helping Elisa, and you’re in for the ride.

One of the things that keep the story moving is the influence of the music of the 60s. The music of the 60s plays heavily into the movie. Elisa’s love for music helps her communicate with The Asset besides using sign language. Just like Pixar’s "Coco", not only does the music help keep the story moving bug it helps these characters connect with each other. Unlike other films released this year, the late 20th-century music isn’t shoved in your face to promote a soundtrack. 

SCARY SHANNON HAS RETURNED

Michael Shannon has been known to play a numerous amount of antagonists in his career, but Strickland has to be one of the most menacing characters in his filmography. He starts off as an asshole similarly to his role in the 2012 film, "Premium Rush" but as the film progresses, he becomes incredibly frightening. Strickland would have you at the edge of the seat, with your pulse pounding due to the actions he would do, and that's all the mastering of Shannon himself. There is even a moment where he becomes as creepy as a Hollywood executive for he literally sexually harasses Elisa due to his level of power he has over her.  Shit, Shannon is more terrifying here than he was as Zod in "Man of Steel."

THE BAD

GET ON TRACK

There way too many subplots that make the overall story convoluted more than it needs to be. As I said, every character in this has an arc and motivation. Most finish by the second act but some just keeps going and going because it helps the audience understand the setting and what political monopolies that were going on during that time opposed to the main story at hand. It helps build the urgency, but at moments it derails several times. Unfortunately, it feels like two separate movies for a brief amount of time. 

LAST STATEMENT

Artistically mesmerizing and driven with a heartfelt story and a dominant performance by Sally Hawkins makes "The Shape of Water" not only the best film by Guillermo del Toro in years and but proves the reason why people call him a visionary storyteller.

Rating: 4/5 | 88%

Super Scene: "You Never Know How Much I Love You."