THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017) - Beauty at its most intimate
The Shape of Water is a 2017 science-fiction romantic drama film directed and written by Guillermo del Toro, starring Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Richard Jenkins. The movie follows Elisa Esposito, a mute janitor working at a secret government facility set in Cold War-era Baltimore, where she meets, befriends, and ultimately falls in love with a humanoid amphibian creature that had been recently captured by the U.S. government.
"When he looks at me, he does not know what I lack, or how I am incomplete. He sees me for what I am, as I am." So begins one of the strangest, and yet most endearing, love stories in modern cinema. But what elevates this film from simple love story to timeless classic isn't its weird "fish sex" romance, but the themes that resonate through every character present.
The Shape of Water is a story about incomplete people--people who feel unfulfilled with their lives because they can't communicate with others, unfulfilled because they can no longer stand the people they once loved, unfulfilled because they've never found love or acceptance or feelings of self-worth, and ultimately how these people learn to either fill the gaps in their souls or forever be consumed by them.
Sally Hawkins delivers probably one of her best performances yet as Elisa, a woman who outwardly appears happy and content with the curiosity of a young child, while simultaneously shouldering feelings of unfulfillment, incompleteness, and ineptitude, not just due to her disability, but because of where life has taken her thus far. This requires a highly nuanced, highly emotional performance that is made without speaking a single line of dialogue, and yet Hawkins delivers on this performance beautifully.
Opposite her is the Amphibian Man (also known as the Asset)--the strange Creature from the Black Lagoon who is captured and imprisoned within the government facility. While he, himself is not exactly compelling as a character, I still think it's important to note just how creative his design is and how great his costume looks. A lesser director in a worse movie would probably have gone full CGI for this and it would've undoubtedly looked terrible.
Of course, you can't go into a Guillermo del Toro movie without expecting amazing visuals, and this movie absolutely delivers. The rich blues and greens permeate nearly every scene like a painting, and the underwater "love scenes" between Elisa and the Amphibian Man are among the most beautiful shots in cinematic history, wonderfully backed by the soundtrack, which elevates every scene into great heights.
The Shape of Water is a story about incomplete people--people who feel unfulfilled with their lives because they can't communicate with others, unfulfilled because they can no longer stand the people they once loved, unfulfilled because they've never found love or acceptance or feelings of self-worth, and ultimately how these people learn to either fill the gaps in their souls or forever be consumed by them.
Sally Hawkins delivers probably one of her best performances yet as Elisa, a woman who outwardly appears happy and content with the curiosity of a young child, while simultaneously shouldering feelings of unfulfillment, incompleteness, and ineptitude, not just due to her disability, but because of where life has taken her thus far. This requires a highly nuanced, highly emotional performance that is made without speaking a single line of dialogue, and yet Hawkins delivers on this performance beautifully.
Opposite her is the Amphibian Man (also known as the Asset)--the strange Creature from the Black Lagoon who is captured and imprisoned within the government facility. While he, himself is not exactly compelling as a character, I still think it's important to note just how creative his design is and how great his costume looks. A lesser director in a worse movie would probably have gone full CGI for this and it would've undoubtedly looked terrible.
Of course, you can't go into a Guillermo del Toro movie without expecting amazing visuals, and this movie absolutely delivers. The rich blues and greens permeate nearly every scene like a painting, and the underwater "love scenes" between Elisa and the Amphibian Man are among the most beautiful shots in cinematic history, wonderfully backed by the soundtrack, which elevates every scene into great heights.
Final Verdict
The Shape of Water is beauty at its most intimate, a story about an unlikely duo falling in love, about incomplete people struggling to find a fulfilling purpose in their lives, about woman who wants to be seen for who she is. It's visually beautiful, musically amazing, and will most definitely go down as one of del Toro's finest works.
This movie falls closer to the "art house" category on the film spectrum, so likely not everyone will enjoy it, but I'd still highly recommend this movie to anyone looking for a beautiful movie that doesn't rely on huge setpieces, simple character tropes, or traditional story structure (this movie has a noticeably different four-act structure).
But it's definitely not for people who are uncomfortable with nudity. Cause y'know, fish sex.
Grade: A
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| It's also been made into a book for those interested. And it has a pretty sick cover if I do say so myself. |
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