'The Shape Of Water' Review: What A Spectacle!


🌟 The Shape Of Water 🌟 Review 🌟 10/10 🌟

Unprecedented director Guillermo Del Toro clearly put everything he had into this magical monster movie/romance, from a beautiful, labyrinthian visual scheme to a powerful story of love and empathy. Certainly The Shape of Water comes from a strange idea, but it's so lovely and so open-hearted that it never falters. Given that it's structured, like Del Toro's dark fairy tale, Pan's Labyrinth, viewers may think that it's easy to see where the story is going, but I beg to differ,The Shape of Water is less about the payoff, or even the mystery, the real story that lies underneath is simply about connecting.

It's interesting that Del Toro decided to spend time focusing on other connections in the story, from husband-and-wife relationships to a spurned crush -- an asshole who serves some not so great pie --. And even the friendship between Elisa and Zelda -- one never speaking, the other always speaking -- is amusingly off-kilter. The movie seems to be saying that as long as something feels real, then it is real. The characters are supported by the brilliant set designs, which frame characters in such unique and specific ways. There's also a striking use of the color green (pies, paintings, jelly, cars, lab) which I believe represents an unwelcoming, unromantic future. Also there's some great thematic uses of water (for cooking, bathing, as a force for destruction, etc.).

The hole cast were absolutely subliminal; Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer, Doug Jones and then there's the two standouts, Michael Shannon and Sally Hawkins who absolutely killed it, one so innocent and loving, the other the complete opposite.

All in all, The Shape of Water is one of Del Toro's absolute best movies and it is truly beautiful!


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