Review: The Shape of Water

Guillermo del Toro loves monsters. This sentiment drives his new film The Shape of Water, an sweeping love story that demands better for movie monsters. Here is a film that you have seen before and yet never seen because Del Toro manages to make you feel the same way he does. His love of cinematic creatures permeates every inch of the film.

One can imagine Del Toro has become disheartened at the current place for such creations. The Shape of Water is so clearly written from someone who wanted to make something he hadn't seen on the screen for a very long time, maybe never at all. Monsters have long been stand-ins for cultural "others", those who long to be accepted despite abnormalities. Here, Del Toro pairs a mute woman with an aquatic creature to create one of the most unique love stories of the year.

Sally Hawkins plays Eliza, the non-verbal main character who spends her days cleaning a top-secret facility. She lives with her best friend Giles (Richard Jenkins), a homosexual ad artist who is struggling for work. She has a friend at work in Zelda (Octavia Spencer) who loves to talk to her endlessly. Life for Eliza gets shaken up one day when a insidious new agent Strickland (Michael Shannon) arrives with the creature they call The Asset (Doug Jones). 

Set during the Cold War, The US and Russia both have intentions for the creature. None of this matters to Eliza though. She quickly connects to the creature, after seeing it tortured. They connect over music and boiled eggs and eventually communicate via sign language. All of this is observed by Hoffstetler (Michael Stuhlbarg), a scientist who wants to study the creature. Eliza soon wants to free The Asset and enlists her allies in doing so. Del Toro creates a band of misfits here for the ages, each member someone you grow to have affection for. 

Affection is a big part of the film, not only for Eliza and The Asset but also for Strickland who desires Eliza. The other big theme is the misfits themselves. Its not hard to see that the story's heroes are a disabled woman, a gay man, a black woman and a monster. They go up against a white man who stands for the hallmarks of American life at the time, the nuclear family so to speak. That the film never feels pushy or political is remarkable.

This is largely thanks to Del Toro's unique ability to combine what is strange, thrilling, sweet, scary and lovely all into a cohesive vision. The Shape of Water finds the director at his best since Pan's Labyrinth. Filmed in greens and blues, the film is a celebration of classic cinema, musicals, monsters, and the America of the 1950's. It also slyly critiques and comments on the place for these things in today's world. Pay close attention to the way green is used, from Jello to the hard candy Strickland is always sucking on, Del Toro's craft is on full display throughout.

Hawkins, Jenkins and Shannon are all standouts here. Hawkins gives a rich portrait of Eliza often just using her face. Jenkins embodies the sweet nature of Giles while also showing the sadness that defines his life. Shannon creates a memorable villain with more than just one side to him. The harmony of performances here helps give the film its emotional punch and boy does The Shape of Water have one.

4.5/5