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Rating: 4.5 out of 5
What do you get when you cross The Creature from the Black Lagoon with Romeo and Juliet? You get Guillermo del Toro’s latest work and Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. After doing films like Pan’s Labyrinth, which is AMAZING, and the first two Hellboy films, which are wonderful, del Toro decided to give romance mixed with horror and sci-fi a chance. Gone are the giant ass-fighting robots that protect us from extinction. This time around, del Toro presents a fairytale love story that seems straight out of a fairytale book and into people’s hearts.
The Shape of Water is set in 1962 in Baltimore and is the love story of Elisa Esposito (Hawkins). Elisa is a mute, isolated woman who works as a cleaning lady in a hidden, high-security government laboratory. Her life is set by a very prominent routine where she wakes up, boils some eggs, masturbates in her bathtub, and cleans all day. If one were to look at her life, they would see that she is a very lonely person who has only two friends in the world, along with having the distinct feature of three scars on each side of her neck. She lives above a movie house, and her next-door neighbor is Giles (Jenkins), is an aging gay artist who is one of her emotional support. Like Elisa, Giles is also lonely. Being a homosexual has complicated both his personal and professional life as a commercial graphic artist. Her best friend is a fellow cleaner, Zelda Fuller (Spencer), who often translates her sign language to others at the facility and always has her back.
Elisa’s life suddenly changes when Colonel Richard Strickland (Shannon) brings a new “asset” into the facility. The “asset” is something that sits in a large water tank. One day Elisa discovers that the new asset is a mixed human/amphibious creature found in the waters of the Amazon. The thing straight up could be the Creature from the Black Lagoon or his cousin. At first curious, Elisa is immediately drawn to him. Elisa spends her time with the Creature bringing him eggs and communicating with him. Soon they fall in love with each other, and Elisa wants to free the Creature from its prison. As she thinks of a way to free her beloved, the Soviets are also aware of the Creature. They have a secret agent who has infiltrated the facility.
The story comes directly from del Toro’s mind, and it has his feel all over it. If you are trying to pinpoint what it looks like, del Toro seemed to get inspiration from many different stories. It was like he picked up a copy of the Grimm Fairytales, picked out like three stories from them, and added them together in the beautiful movie that even I didn’t think I would enjoy. First, like I said earlier, del Toro seemed to take the Creature from the Creature of the Black Lagoon and asked himself, what if the Creature didn’t die but got caught instead and fell in love? It looked like he watched Beauty and the Beast or the Princess and the Frog and was like, which will work for the backdrop between both characters. It is like love is more than just looks but what is in the inside. Also, there is a little bit of King Kong in this film. How the Creature is out of place and really isn’t the monster. The true monster in this film is Strickland, who is beyond messed up when his fingers got bit off, along with not washing his hands after he takes a piss. All of these themes just made this movie work.
This story is brought to life with the extreme help of cinematographer Dan Laustsen. There are so many scenes that are just breathtaking and a joy to watch. When you are working with del Toro, you need to have things come to life. First, the film has that Cold-War feel to it with specific colors and tones that add to its overall depth. Also, the film has that 60’s style to it that makes it seem old but visually makes it pop. One prominent theme is the theme of water throughout the film. Water is the source of the amphibious man and is the setting point to free him. Elisa must get to the docks when it’s pouring down rain. Several scenes stand out the most. One scene with water is when the Creature and Elisa make love in a room filled with water. It is an excellent and beautifully done scene. Another scene is when Elisa and the Creature are sitting at the table. She starts mouthing the words to a song. The scene slowly fades to dark except for a single spotlight on her. It then turns to black and white, with the two dancing to those old school movies before fading back to color and the present. The final scene is beautifully down when Elisa is dead, and she floats in the water. The lighting hitting the water and the imagery are all well done.
Now I do have some questions. I find it quite interesting that the cleaning staff works at an underground government facility, and NO ONE talks. Listen, if I see someone’s fingers get bitten off, you don’t think I’ll talk. If I see a fish-man, you know I am talking because that is some crazy-looking shit. Also, when the Creature escapes and ends up in the movie house. First, how you get in there, and you didn’t runoff. Second, NO ONE saw you? You standing in the middle of the movie house, and no one walks in. Also, Elisa really was in love to get freaky with the beast. I give her props because she had no shame in getting it on.
The performances of the actors and actresses in this film make this film work. Sally Hawkins, as Elisa Esposito, was exceptional. She didn’t say a single word, but her expressions and concerns are on full display. From her cute little smile and dancing to how she says FU in sign language makes it her movie, and she shines in it. Also, she has a really lovely body. Do your thang girl.
Richard Jenkins as Giles was also excellent. He was that caring friend and neighbor who was going through his own hardships. Not being employed because he is gay and all he wanted was love also. What can I say about Octavia Spencer as Zelda Delilah Fuller? If I need a sassy sista that constantly tells it how it is, you can call on her because I always enjoy her roles. Finally, Michael Shannon, as Richard Strickland, is the true monster in the film. Shannon seems to always make the best villain when he is cast for a role, and in this one, he is evil and doing his job.
Also, the musical score in this film is pleasant to listen to. I hardly ever notice music unless it is catching to my ear. This one was nice to listen to because it had that French feel to it. It didn’t have the usual 60s songs that one might hear. It was enjoyable to listen to, along with wanting to do a ballroom dance with it.
Overall, del Toro did it again by bringing a story to life like he did with Pan’s Labyrinth. A story with many elements in it that are so well put together that the only thing you can do is clap. The Shape of Water is one of del Toro’s best films, and the acting was great to watch. Every actor and actress did a great job, especially Sally Hawkins. She really stood out and was the center of the film. The music and cinematography also stand out. The Shape of Water was a joy to watch, and if you like other del Toro movies, you will like this one too.
