Written and Directed by Guillermo Del Toro and starring Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, and Richard Jenkins
I have to admit, I’m not very familiar with Guillermo Del Toro’s filmography. I saw Pacific Rim in IMAX 3D with my son when it came out, and loved the rollicking rock-’em sock-em robots vibe. I saw Hellboy and liked his stylistic take on a very stylized graphic novel. Both of these films were interesting, but I have never seen Del Toro explore any themes of resonance. I have heard that Pan’s Labyrinth is a gut-wrenching powerhouse of feels, but I wouldn’t know personally. I knew that Del Toro could deliver the goods visually, but did he have the chops to bring down the house emotionally?
The short answer is yes.
The Shape of Water is one of the most human monster movies that I’ve ever seen. Lots of screen time is devoted to the mysterious amphibian creature everyone has seen in the marketing, but he is not the film’s main character, despite events revolving around his imprisonment and escape attempt. That honor goes to Sally Hawkins, playing Elisa Esposito, a meek mute janitor at the secret government facility that serves as a prison for the creature. Hawkins’ performance is the heart of this movie, and she delivers the goods without saying a word.
Shortly after the creature’s incarceration at the facility, he and Elisa form a bond that transcends language, she being unable to vocalize, and the creature only able to utter guttural sounds. She sympathizes with his situation as someone unable to communicate with a world that doesn’t truly understand. Through basic hand gestures and body language, the two find themselves in each other, and when Elisa learns of the heinous endgame in store for the creature brought upon by shady government operatives (Michael Shannon, who seems to be having fun playing an unhinged psychopath), she enlists the help of her only friends (Octavia Spencer, whose sass steals scenes, and Richard Jenkins, whose earnest bleeding heart cries out for fulfillment and purpose) to break the creature out and return him home.
To reveal more about the events would venture into spoiler territory, but even the sequence of events is not the true draw here. Sally Hawkins and Doug Jones (who plays the amphibious creature) hook the viewer and bring them along as they sell one hell of a love story, that just so happens to involve the creature from the Black Lagoon. The development of their relationship is played straight, without any hint of irony, and what Del Toro leaves us with is a compelling journey of watching two people connect, despite any traditional means to do so, and the connection they form is something more inspiring than any recent traditional love story or rom-com. Even during the film’s most fantastical sequences (of which there are a couple), there is never a sense of absurdity accompanying them. Instead, it is the heart and the love between these two beings that shines through, carrying the weight of the film with them.
The Shape of Water succeeds far more often than it fails. If Del Toro has this kind of depth waiting for me in his back catalog, then I can’t wait to dive in.
Matt