The Shape of Water (2017) - Review

Magical. That is the word that best encapsulates The Shape of Water. This is the type of film that will make people fall in love with cinema, and inspire future filmmakers.

Guillermo del Toro crafts a wonderful piece of art in this romantic fantasy film. Elisa, played by Sally Hawkins plays Elisa, a mute woman living alone above a classical movie theatre, falls in love with a humanoid amphibian (played by Doug Jones), and attempts to break it out of the government facility it is housed in, and out of the clutches of Michael Shannon's Colonel Strickland.

Sally Hawkins is terrific as Elisa, using her facials and body language to illustrate a woman madly in love. One scene in particular showcases a near tears Elisa desperately pleading with Richard Jenkins' character to help rescue the creature. Michael Shannon is the true star of the film, walking the line between reserved and unhinged so delicately, it is worthy of an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Doug Jones, while restricted in heavy prosthetics, also utilizes his body language tremendously, hitting just the right note of sympathetic prisoner and foreign, mysterious creature.

The influence of classic cinema is undeniable on this feature. del Toro directs a loving musical dream sequence that is a call back to the films of the 50's, while the creature design is reminiscent of Creature from the Black Lagoon.

As delightful as the film is, I do have a couple of complaints. The middle act drags, with one too many scenes of the Russian spy scientist (spyentist?) who has infiltrated the American facility. Elisa makes a few too many dumb decisions for my liking, including openly mocking Strickland to his face. While he can not understand her sign language, I was left dumbfounded as to why Elisa would draw ANY attention to herself while she is hiding a giant fish man in her bathtub. I am pleased to say that these flaws did not derail the film, but were flaws nonetheless.

This is an automatic Best Picture nominee, and I could easily see it winning. I do not know if it would top my personal list for 2017, but I fully believe this will be talked about for years to come as mandatory viewing. The direction and performances put this one over the top for me, taking a B-movie premise and turning it into an A+ piece. Find the oldest, most classic movie theatre you can, buy some popcorn and see this one for FULL PRICE!