The Shape of Water: Review

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Jenkins

Nominated for a dizzying total of thirteen Academy Awards - one less than the record breaking La La Land the previous year - Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water has arguably one of the most unusual premises for a film so highly anticipated, and so deeply praised by the Academy.

The year is 1962 and mute Elisa (Hawkins) works as a caretaker beside long-time friend Zelda (Spencer) at a high-security government facility, and resides above a movie theatre along with her homosexual neighbour Giles (Jenkins). Her meticulously routine life is thrown off kilter when she forms an unlikely romance with an amphibious sea creature referred to as ‘The Asset’ (Jones), who is captured by the sadistic Colonel Strickland (Shannon), and moved to the laboratory for experimentation. Meanwhile, resident scientist Dr Robert Hoffstetler (Stuhlbarg) is actually an undercover Russian spy with intent to gain knowledge of the creature.  

The notion behind the forbidden relationship that the plot hinges on is a poignant one; Elisa’s inability to speak- caused by an unknown incident as a baby that left her with scarring to the neck- results in her having a deeper emotional understanding with The Asset, and giving her the capacity to teach him to communicate with her through sign language. This special empathy causes Elisa to not feel ‘incomplete’ when she is with him. A touching concept, although one cannot help but feel that the pacing of the love affair is poorly executed in the story. It’s all well and good that she teaches him the signs for the words ‘Egg’ and ‘Music’, but talk of Elisa being in love with the fish man comes jarringly quickly. The romance does not blossom gradually as one would wish for, and the fact that both of these characters are mute feels like an insufficient basis alone for a relationship. Perhaps this is the reason that the fantasy musical number in which Elisa sings of her love for the creature feels like such an anomaly.

Hawkins is unsurprisingly charming in her performance, being wonderfully charismatic yet attaining a powerful element of sorrow. The entire cast is wholly engaging; in particular Shannon as the dynamic villain with a flair for savage violence, reminiscent of Captain Vidal in Pan’s Labyrinth. Racist, sadistic and misogynistic; he’s a delight to hate. It is in Colonel Strickland’s moments of extreme viciousness that we are reminded that this is a del Toro picture – able to balance fairy tale imagery with explicit brutality. However in some instances Strickland’s dialogue is a little clumsy, particularly when he monologues to intimidate people, it seems a little laboured and perhaps could be pithier.

The Shape of Water is a very striking film, both visually and thematically, although it seems sometimes there is a disproportion between the efforts put into the overall production design and the writing. The film deserves all the praise it receives regarding its aesthetics, but it does lack in its pacing. Some events in the story seem to move too quickly while some scenes drag or are not needed. For example, the intentionally humorous conversation between Elisa and Zelda regarding the anatomy of the sea creature after the first sexual encounter feels unnecessary and in a way tarnishes the sweet romance.    

Although it has its flaws, The Shape of Water manages to be intriguing throughout thanks to the design and performances. There are genuinely touching moments, including the beautiful conclusion, and despite the thirteen Oscar nominations being perhaps a bit excessive, it is undoubtedly unique.    

MS