The Shape of Water

photo courtesy of foxsearchlight.com

BEWARE: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS

     Mesmerizing visuals and outlandish romance are the name of the game in The Shape of Water, the latest film from Guillermo del Toro. Del Toro’s career has been characterized by its love for the otherworldly, demonstrated in the haunting atmospheres and fantastical stories that he typically brings to the big screen. You need not look any further than Crimson Peak, his last directorial effort, to appreciate the dark reminiscence of horror and awe in Hollywood past. In particular, del Toro is known for his love of movie monsters, and that passion is made manifest in The Shape of Water, which serves as something of a love letter to Universal’s classic monster movies.

     The Shape of Water follows a mute woman named Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) whose job is to clean up after the scientists at a top-secret government facility. She leads a lonely life, only interacting with her fellow janitor and friend, Zelda Fuller (Octavia Spencer), and her next door neighbor, a starving artist named Giles (Richard Jenkins). But the rhythms of her life are interrupted when a one-of-a-kind creature (Doug Jones) comes to be housed in the facility for research, alongside his captor Colonel Strickland (Michael Shannon). The creature brings new and unexpected joy into Elisa’s life—and the lives of her friends—if only she can save him from murky forces (governmental and otherwise) that seek to claim him.

photo courtesy of theverge.com

     It is, on paper, a twist on Creature From the Black Lagoon. Rather than being feared by the woman, the monster is loved by her, and rather than being pursued by heroes, the monster’s pursued by villains. Instead of giving a sense of dread to those who cross him, here the creature instills a sense of almost childlike wonder in the people who encounter him.

     And yet the movie also feels like a twist on Cinderella, wherein the lonely princess finds romance despite her unassuming circumstances. The Shape of Water is, first and foremost, a romance, and we’re told from the get-go that it is also a fairy tale: this woman of whom the narrator speaks is clearly identified as a “princess.” That it melds elements of fantasy and noir into the fairy tale narrative gives The Shape of Water an enjoyable sense of other-ness that distinguishes what is, in truth, an archetypal love story.  

photo courtesy of vox.com

     The movie’s narrative speaks to issues of humanity and the inherent value of compassion. The creature, clearly, is not a human, but contrary to Colonel Strickland’s opinion that the creature is (unlike man) not made in God’s image, Elisa finds the creature to be suitably human—his shortcomings, like her own, don’t limit his capacity for emotion and self-worth.

     Interestingly, the creature ends up being more human (or humane) than many of the The Shape of Water’s human characters. While the creature’s actions can be unpredictable or infantile, he clearly demonstrates good intentions, healing his friends’ ailments and having compassion—if almost unwittingly—on their loneliness. Likewise, Elisa and company exhibit the best and human of characteristics by breaking out of their self-pity and acting to save the creature from destruction. As Elisa signs during one of the most critical moments, “if we do nothing, neither are we.”

photo courtesy of theverge.com

     On the other end of the spectrum, the characters with the least humanity are those who seek to control and kill the creature (called, in their dialogue, the “asset”) out of self-serving motivations. Michael Shannon’s Colonel Strickland makes the most striking impression—perhaps because his character is also one of the film’s biggest outlets for noir/Hollywood nostalgia. Strickland comes across as a man who wants to have it all: a good job, a quiet life, a solid reputation, a sexual outlet, and a loving family. In each of those points, however, he finds his aims perverted, thwarted and, to some degree, impossible. As his rage increases and he loses his grip on basic human decency, he becomes a far more ruthless villain. His lack of humanity, of course, is emphasized by his dead fingers, which also serves as a visual reference to Frankenstein’s monster.

     Likewise, the shadowy Russian agents serve as a counterpoint to the creature. They, too, want to exploit him for their own gain, but they’ll settle for killing him if that doesn’t work out. Interestingly, the film showcases the differences between the heroes and villains even within Zelda’s home, where Zelda tries to save her friends but her husband thinks only of their own immediate safety without regard for anyone else.  

photo courtesy of denofgeek.com

     If it were in doubt, del Toro again creates a visually immersive, graceful world in The Shape of Water. Cinematography is perhaps the film’s greatest tool for creating the escapist delight that it imparts to the viewer. Although only one scene is actually presented in black and white, there’s a good deal of noir in the film (particularly during the final confrontation on the dock). For the most part the color palette rests in darker, bluish tones that evoke an underwater setting, as if Elisa had been living in the water even before she escaped with the creature. Beautiful and elegant, it’s a treat for the audience.

     The cast, too, earns top marks. Sally Hawkins gives a wonderfully expressive performance as Elisa. Using next to no words, she gives the character a crucial range of emotion, which, in its extremes, serves as another callback to old Hollywood. Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins, and Michael Shannon all perform at the top of their game.  

photo courtesy of collider.com

     The Shape of Water does struggle to overcome the obstacle that lies at the heart of its romance: the physically alien nature of the creature. Though it is, of course, a piece of fantastical fiction, there’s no denying a feeling of apprehension in the buildup to Elisa’s rescue plans, or the requisite feeling of scandal in seeing them consummate their relationship. There’s a (strong) case to be made for the way the romance plays out—yes, even their sexual relationship—but there’s also no denying that it will jolt some viewers (including, to an extent, myself) right out of the immersive world that del Toro has built. 

Watch the trailer here. 

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