REVIEW: The Shape of Water

Directed by Guillermo del Toro
2017 Fantasy Romance Drama
2 hours, 3 minutes
From Fox Searchlight

Starring
Sally Hawkins
Michael Shannon
Richard Jenkins
Octavia Spencer
Michael Stuhlbarg
Doug Jones

Tis the season, isn't it?  No, not just the holiday season but the time for Hollywood to release all of its most notable films, most of which are deliberately set for this time of year.  The moviemakers want the Oscar voters to remember their films and nominate them and then put the appropriate checkmark by the right name.  It's all about the Oscars.  Well, as always, it's really all about revenue but the Oscars help a lot with that.

I have just seen my favorite movie of the year so far.  There are five or six more upcoming (will have to wait until January in these parts of the country to see them), some of which I anticipate could get four stars.  But as we speak, damn, damn, damn, I just saw a good movie... and actually, I have already seen it twice.

A good movie or a great one is not just an entertaining story that keeps one engaged or great acting or one that draws one in and is deeply-felt for some reason.  It is all of that, of course, or can be, but for me it has to be coupled with being very well-made.  All systems have to be up and running... directing, writing, the look (in its myriad ways), sound, music, editing... all of it.  When all of that happens in one film, and it's rare when it does, it is pure magic to me.  It's that single experience that reminds me of why I fell in love so completely with movies oh so many years ago... and the romance continues.

Oh yes... this is suppose to be about shining a light on director-writer Guillermo Del Toro's magnificent The Shape of Water.  I hope the public takes to it (although that title won't help) as much as the critics have but I wonder.  I should think word-of-mouth will be strong or at least I hope so.

I want a director who tells a complete story... beginning, middle, end.  And I want the story to move along, not necessarily at a rapid clip but keep it going.  Again, I want somehow to connect to his vision.  That director must know what he wants and he must get just the right professionals to help bring his vision to life.

I referred to it as a fantasy-romance-drama and while that is certainly so, at its core it's a monster movie.  I almost cannot believe I am saying that but that's what it is.  I've never seen a better one.  One of my favorites from my childhood, 1954's Creature from the Black Lagoon, was obviously an inspiration for Del Toro whose amphibian looks similar.  Del Toro also includes some chatter about it being from some river in South America.  Black Lagoon had the creature in love with the leading lady who, in turn, was terrified.  It works out much differently here.  

The Shape of Water takes place circa 1962, mostly at some secretive government laboratory with some very dangerous people milling about.  At the center is a mute cleaning lady (Hawkins) at the lab and her emotional involvement with the creature, referred to as The Asset.

She has two loving friends... one is her co-cleaning lady (Spencer) and the other, a disenfranchised artist (Jenkins) who lives across the hall from her in an apartment above a movie theater that has seen better days.  She  also works with a human monster, head of security (Shannon) whose cruelty to the creature she cannot abide.  There is no doubt  she will try to get him out of that evil place.

People coming to see a monster movie about a creature whose main motive is to scare the bejesus out of people will be disappointed.  It's not that we're unaware that he can be frightening and lethal, but it's best to be alerted to it being a love story between two misunderstood souls.  It's touching to see their emotions displayed in their special way.

Aside from romance, it was a touching nod to friendship between her and her two human friends.  I found it impressive that her voice, understanding, support and loyalty came from friends who were an African-American woman and a closeted gay man.  Furthermore, the lead character is disabled.  

Throughout the film there is enough humor and suspense to last the entire two hours although once she frees him, the tone becomes more sinister with an ending that's practically Shakespearean.  I may have even detected a nod to film noir.

Other than the fantasy of the creature itself, fantasy sequences are largely left to things she imagined and we get to see.  Otherwise, this is certainly played for real.

There is a wondrous soundtrack stuffed mainly with those fabulous tunes of the 1940's.  Be still my heart... it could have been a wretched movie and I'd have still loved it for the songs.  Chief among them was You'll Never Know, which I'd had just waxed rhapsodic about in my piece on Alice Faye.  There's even a clip of her singing it from Hello, Frisco, Hello and sung twice more. 

The Shape of Water, while not a title to particularly attract audiences, is nonetheless more understandable once seeing the picture.  Water is practically a costar and two sequences in particular were quite special.

This is a Guillermo del Toro film all the way.  He is the director, co-producer and co-writer.  He has mostly and famously worked in fantasy and horror and is the complete storyteller, very daring, very visual, usually providing such captivating surprises.  Did you see Pan's Labyrinth (2006)?

Guillermo del Toro

He has assembled a brilliant cast.  With the exception of Oscar winner Spencer, none of the cast has a particularly well-known name.  I think that was smart.  del Toro says he wrote his story thinking that Shannon and Hawkins would inherit the lead roles.  We'll conclude that is part of why both are so good in their parts.  Perhaps these are actors that are about as far removed from a Clark Gable or Joan Crawford as actors could be.  Of course neither has that type of manufactured studio glamour but some actors today want to be known for their work and little else.

I have seen Shannon in most everything he's done... and to paraphrase dear Mae West... when he's good, he's very good and when he's bad he's better.  I've not had any accidents in my seat (and I wonder if that's what he's seeking) but this man terrifies me.  One day he's going to win an Oscar.  If Shane is ever redone, he's got Jack Palance's role in my book.  I don't think Hawkins has ever had such a meaty, lead role.  Mute roles are so memorable, too... who could forget Dorothy McGuire in The Spiral Staircase (1946) or Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda (1948) and others?

Both Spencer and Jenkins hit their marks and although they are second leads, both have an ample amount of screen time.  Michael Stuhlbarg commands one's attention as a mysterious scientist who has fallen out of favor with Shannon and fallen in with Hawkins in her effort to free The Asset.

Speaking of him, Doug Jones certainly nails it.  I know I would have been so claustrophobic in that suit which took hours to get into each day he was needed.  I am trusting it's not the same Doug Jones that won the Alabama senate race but who can be sure?

If this movie doesn't cop some Oscar nominations, there is  something seriously wrong with those voters.

It ended with a lovely poem although I think it was something written by for the film and it goes something like.... Unable to perceive the shape of you, I find you all around me.  Your presence fills my eyes with your love, it humbles my heart for you are everywhere.


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A good 30s film