About – At a top-secret research facility in the 1960’s, a janitor forms a unique relationship with a marine creature.
Directed and co-written by Guillermo Del Toro comes this fantasy, dramatic love-affair. Guillermo Del Toro’s last film wasn’t ground breaking and slipped under a lot of people’s radars, Crimson Peak (2015). The Shape of Water is a huge step up, the visuals, narrative and acting are just a handful of sections that have risen. This can be seen through the awards buzz, The Shape of Water landing thirteen Oscar nominations and eleven BAFTA’s. There is no surprise for the nominations.
Elisa (Sally Hawkins) works as a janitor in a top-secret research facility. She is a mute and feels she is incomplete because of it. Her friend and work colleague, Zelda (Octavia Spencer) together they clean bathrooms and labs. They both get called into one lab to clean, when a container holding the creature is delivered. Elisa is intrigued into what they’re holding in there and sneaks into the lab during dinner hours. This is where she befriends the creature and forms this unique relationship. Richard (Michael Shannon) is responsible for the creature and to be the guard of the lab.
Every single performance in this film was superb, there is no fault whatsoever. Without a doubt, Sally Hawkins shines and emulates her character through her facial expressions and her body language. This performance could see Sally win an Oscar, BAFTA or both, it was that magical.
As for the characters, each main character notices their imperfections. The Shape of Water takes these imperfections and uniqueness’s, which build’s their own characteristics around them. Giles (Richard Jenkins) Elisa’s neighbour is gay and in the 1960’s this makes him feel alone. Elisa is a mute and feels incomplete due to it. Zelda works all the time, at work and at home with no help. Richard feels unwanted from everyone he interacts with, even though he feels like he is always doing the right thing, either at home and at work.
The void that fills these imperfections makes The Shape of Water that more special. For Elisa the fulfilment is the creature, the creature makes her feel complete and she forgets about her uniqueness because the creature sees her for who she is.
The love-affair between Elisa and the creature is unique and fictitious, which lets us escape from reality. By having realism between characters, we feel something after the credits in a more in-depth point of viewing. These feelings are felt making The Shape of Water such a brilliant storytelling fantasy drama.
The most surprising feature within the narrative is the humour, especially from Zelda. She moans and moans about her life and has uncontrollable passing comments with everything she sees or hears. Her sassiness is everything you want from this character. This humour truly made Zelda and broke the ice between scenes.
In every Guillermo Del Toro film we can expect outstanding and beautiful visual effects. Without a doubt, we are treated to some of the best visual effects work in this film. The creature, visually looked real and stunning. The effects looked even more beautiful with the help of the cinematography and the lighting. The colour green and teal shades, work together to create the illusion that everything we are seeing is aqua related. By having these main points, we can expect it to be visually stunning.
The Shape of Water has a unique message, it’s not just a fantasy love story between a woman and an aquatic creature. It has messages about how we all fill in our own uniqueness’s with things that we love uncontrollably.
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