“SKumm’s Thoughts” - THE SHAPE OF WATER

“SKumm’s Thoughts”

THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017, R, 123 minutes, BULL PRODUCTIONS/FOX SEARCHLIGHT)

Guillermo del Toro is like that weird kid in school—you know, the one always drawing imaginary creatures and wearing Slayer t-shirts.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that; I write about imaginary creatures and wear Beastie Boys and ALIEN t-shirts.

But imagine that kid with a lot of money and influence (see: NOT ME).  What would be his best avenue for spreading his ideas and musings?  On film, of course—and his latest creation is one which deserves a heckuva lot more attention than it is getting.

At its heart, THE SHAPE OF WATER is a love story.  It is also a love letter to monster movies of the fifties, a film about prejudice, a musical, a story shaped by the wonders and horrors of humanity, and soulful communication without words.  Sally Hawkins (PADDINGTON, GODZILLA) plays Elisa Esposito, a mute cleaning lady at a facility which houses unique “assets”.  She and her partner Zelda (Octavia Spencer of THE HELP and HIDDEN FIGURES) are tasked with cleaning a lab housing an amphibious humanoid (Doug Jones, “Star Trek: Discovery”, HELLBOY), an asset captured in South America and transported to the lab by Richard Strickland, played with joyous, evil abandon by the versatile Michael Shannon (MAN OF STEEL, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL).  Strickland is your typical vile government official who understands only that the creature is important because of its difference to humans; he wants to take it apart, while the scientists wish to study it.  And somehow, Elisa, amidst all of Strickland’s torture tactics and fear, falls in love with it.

There are elements to this film that seem eerily familiar to other del Toro works, from the oppressive bad guy to the misunderstood creature.  By setting the story in the era during which fear of the Soviet Union and rage against people of color reign supreme, he adds a number of aspects to the film which mirror the fantastical aspects of his script.  Like CHRONOS and the brilliant THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, del Toro has crafted a fairytale for adults that need a good fable.  And never has his voice seemed clearer, and never has his visual style appeared so vividly.  Working with a small budget (no CGI here, kids), the filmmaker creates a world within our world, making it at times tonally reverent, and at others strikingly harsh.  And you’ve never seen Sally Hawkins quite like this; her body language alone should be taught in film schools, not to mention how she makes you believe that beauty really could fall in love with the beast.

I mentioned a few weeks ago how I’m usually dead wrong when it comes to picking the Oscar winners; after all, I’m just that weird kid with a laptop, internet access, and an opinion.  And a butt-load of movie inspired t-shirts.  But what del Toro pulls off with such a small budget (under twenty-million is considered small for a genre busting “horror” film) should earn him a Best Director win at the Academy Awards.  The performances he elicits, and the sets he built—hell, the story he crafted and imagined in his head, to see it come to life onscreen… well, other directors have won for less.  When you consider that he had a hand in every conceivable detail, from the lighting and the color schemes to the obvious stuff like acting and cinematography, del Toro’s performance here is one that should be revered and, yes, lauded.

Weird kids of the world unite—that other awkward kid from shop class has made himself a masterpiece.

           

Grade: A+