The Shape of Water (2017)

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Story: Guillermo del Toro

Cast: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon

Music: Alexandre Desplat

Time: 123 minutes

Bottom-line: Nothing more than del Toro’s version of E.T (but we all like E. T, don't we?)

The winner of three Oscars out of twelve nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture, The Shape of Water, in my opinion, is a tad overrated. Starring Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer and Michael Shannon in the lead roles, with Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Jenkins and Doug Jones in the supporting roles, the film is pretty much exactly E.T., with del Toro’s touches.

Giles: It's not even human!
Elisa: If we do nothing, neither are we. 
Elisa Esposito (Hawkins) is a mute girl, who lives alone in an apartment above a cinema. She works in a secret government lab in Baltimore, during the Cold War. Her closest friends are an African-American co-worker, Zelda (Spencer), and her neighbour, Giles (Jenkins). The lab receives a humanoid amphibian creature (Jones), and Colonel Richard Strickland (Shannon) is in charge of the project to study the creature. One scientist in the project, Robert Hoffstetler (Stuhlbarg), is actually a Soviet spy. Meanwhile, Elisa and the creature form a close bond, and she visits and feeds it in secret. Knowing that the Americans want to kill the creature, Elisa convinces Giles and Hoffstetler to rescue the creature from the lab. Are they successful, or do the Americans (and Soviets) hunt them down?    

 

Hawkins as Elisa, and the humanoid amphibian

As a film by itself, The Shape of Water is a warm and emotional drama revolving about an unlikely friendship (and even more) between a human and a creature. There is a lot of drama, action, romance and suspense. But del Toro is one guy who is known for his imagination, and that is probably why I’m slightly disappointed that the storyline resembles Spielberg’s 1982 film in every way. Like I said, there are a lot of “del Toro effects” like the dark atmosphere, the elements of violence and the blend of reality and fantasy.

 

Spencer as Zelda

The entire cast has done an outstanding job in acting. Hawkins’ expressions of love, anger and desperation are perfect. Spencer shows how versatile and experienced an actress she is through her flawless performance. Shannon has done exceptionally well, and you know that because you, as a viewer, will most definitely despise his character as the movie progresses. Stuhlbarg’s character is one you feel a lot of admiration for; he risks his life with the Americans and the Soviets to help a group of two people save a creature!

 

Stuhlbarg as Hoffstetler (right), and Shannon as Strickland

The visuals are dazzling: everything from the appearance of the creature, to the scene where the bathroom is flooded with water. The story also focuses on the transition between Elisa and the creature as mere friends to the point where she has sex with it (yeah that’s where it’s different from E.T!). The climax is also very moving, and del Toro uses his creative license to end it on a positive note. While it lacks the imagination I thought it would have, and overrated as it may be, The Shape of Water is a nice drama film boosted by the performances of Hawkins and Spencer, and the visual effects.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 92%