Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Screenplay by: Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor
Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) lives a life of isolation. She works as a janitor at a top secret research facility just outside Baltimore in this cold-war era story. As a child she sustained a curious injury that has left her mute. Her co-worker, Zelda (Octavia Spencer) does much of the translating for Elisa as she uses sign language to communicate. Elisa and Zelda are very much outsiders. As janitors, they are not allowed everywhere in the facility, and if they are allowed in some of the top secret places, they can only be there for a few minutes to clean up. Elisa's next door neighbor, Giles (Richard Jenkins), is also an outsider. He's a commercial artist constantly looking for work. Giles and Zelda appear to be Elisa's only two friends; until one day that is unlike any other.
There's a new specimen brought to the facility; an amphibious fish-man type creature (played by Doug Jones and is a clear throwback to Creature From the Black Lagoon) found in the Amazon. The plan is for the scientists and researchers to study it and learn what they can so they can stay one step ahead of the Russians in the space race. Can they put this thing into space? Elisa and Zelda are assigned to clean up the room where the creature is being held one day, and Elisa becomes quite curious about the creature. She sits by the tank where it is being held and tries to see it for herself. She lures it with hard-boiled eggs and over time, gets on the creature's good side. When she is alone in the facility, she tries to spend as much time as she can with the creature, but she has to be sneaky about it. She begins to develop a strong affection for the creature that eventually turns into something resembling a romance.
Dr. Robert Hoffstetler (Michael Stuhlbarg) is the scientist in charge of studying this creature (who is also a Russian spy), but his boss, Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon), head of security, doesn't much care for it or his research. He seems to be interested only in torturing and studying it, then probably killing it. Elisa becomes increasingly aware of what is going on and wants to help this creature escape this facility and go back into the ocean, where it belongs. She feels the treatment of this creature is unacceptable despite it not being human. She feels it should be treated as human and will stop at nothing to ensure its safety. This is a tale of unexpected friendship, love, and people by some to be outsiders sticking together.
The film has been nominated for 13 Academy Awards. That should tell you already a little about what an incredible film The Shape of Water is. I love that while this film is about a monster-like creature, it is not a horror film. In fact it is quite the opposite. The creature is treated like a monster because the characters are afraid of it, simply because they do not know anything about it. We are often afraid of the things about which we do not know. The depiction of this creature is anything but scary. The way it looks at characters like Elisa tells the viewer that this creature is harmless and just wants to be set free so it can be left alone. It looks to Elisa as its deliverer to freedom. The fact that neither can communicate with each other in a common language also makes this dynamic interesting. They communicate largely on an emotional level and that is what kicks of this sort of romantic relationship between the two. A dynamic between a human (usually female) and a monster type character like this is not uncommon, but does not usually develop to quite this level of romance. For example, in the 2005 version of King Kong, Kong, the monster type character, develops an affinity for Naomi Watts's character; not necessarily because of romantic feelings, but rather because Kong sees safety in her. He can feel safe with her. I believe the amphibian man in The Shape of Water feels the same way toward Elisa.
The Shape of Water is brilliantly shot, incredibly well acted, and tells a story that blurs the line dividing fantasy and reality. To some, it might seem completely absurd to have a human woman fall in love with an amphibious creature that does not speak, but it feels strangely natural on screen. This is a film that combines elements of a spy thriller with an example of racism in the United States during the Cold War, all with fantasy to create a film that needs to be experienced to be believed.
I give The Shape of Water an A+.
Image Source: Texas Lifestyle Magazine
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