'The Shape of Water' Review

The core premise of The Shape of Water is an unsettlingly, verging on disturbing, one. It's takes an immense level of skill to get your audience to root for a lady to hook up with Abe Sapien's more ferocious cousin, without ever feeling weird about it. Guillermo del Toro is a man of such skill. He has both the finesse and the confidence to blend horror, fantasy and romance in a seemingly effortless fashion. The result of which is a truly beautiful film.

Set in the 1960's, a sketchy underground lab is running tests on a humanoid creature (Doug Jones). Led by repulsive government agent Strickland (Michael Shannon), they are trying to exploit this 'thing' to get an edge on the Russians. However, matters become complicated when mute cleaner Elisa (Sally Hawkins) begins to develop an intimate connection with the creature.

Sally Hawkins' performance is astonishing. She conveys the frustration of a lack of voice (a literal hinderance that is explored more metaphorically throughout the movie) perfectly and uses every muscle in her expressive face to ensure that the audience always understands exactly what she is feeling, so much so that her sign language doesn't need to be subtitled. Despite living in silence, her presence on screen is powerful.

The way that del Toro crafts the love story at the heart of this piece is very clever. It's established early on that Elisa craves a connection that her disability has prevented her from getting - her only two friends in the world are a closeted gay-man (Richard Jenkins) and an African American co-worker (brilliantly played by Octavia Spencer), both of whom also lack a voice in the bigotry infected  culture they live in. Her relationship with the creature is forged of similar ideals. There is never any notion of him being a pet to her. Their communication through actions rather than words means they are both equals in conversation, which is something Elisa has never known before. It's a potent idea and is executed brilliantly.

The film is visually stunning, littered with striking and profound imagery. Extended sequences set underwater in unexpected locations are mesmerising. There are musical dream-sequences that pay fitting lip service to 40's and 50's musicals. Fantastical elements are plentiful but this is not a straight up fairytale, as behind the wonder there realistic bluntness to the world. The biting moral and political undertones of the story are not so subtle - it's easy to draw comparisons to certain modern day political figures. Elisa herself is a very practical women, evidenced by certain precautions she takes throughout her everyday life. Of course, del Toro indulges in his horror roots, the grimness of which is embodied by Agent Strickland. Shannon adds yet another detestable villain to his repertoire. He is all of societies faults folded into one monster that makes a fish-man look cute in comparison.

Whilst the concept sounds foul, the result is truly magical. Guillermo del Toro has a gift for weaving a tapestry of genres that have no right to mesh together, whilst making sure you feel safe among the chaos. The Shape of Water is a powerful and moving story, elevated by an outstanding performance from Hawkins, which lives up to the fantastic in it's fantastical idea.

5/5 Stars