The Shape of Water

Paranoid, government secret love may be the best kind of love - that is the shape of Guillermo del Toro’s latest, beautiful myth.


Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is a woman without a voice, mopping the floors and bathrooms in a secret government lab in 1962. The cold war is icy - with the Russians man in outer space and missiles on Cuba putting the Americans G-men on the highest, high alert. Strickland (Michael Shannon) is the G-man in charge, and he kicks things into high gear by introducing the mysterious South American Amphibian Man (Doug Jones) to the lab.


The Amphibian Man is a cross between the Creature from the Black Lagoon, E.T. and Star Man in film parlance. He looks creepy, but still, human enough for Elisa to fall for him. How she reaches out to him is simple and show us how ridiculously limited and unfortunately awkward our verbal language is in comparison.

The rest of the supporting cast is fantastic, too. Richard Jenkins as Elisa’s sweet neighbor, Giles, is fun, sweet and fascinating. And though we’ve seen Octavia Davis in this role before, that’s no reason not to enjoy it again in this context. Michael Stuhlberg (Dr. Robert Hoffstetler) is a fantastic scientist playing multiple sides of his heart, nationality and loyalty at once.
Michael Shannon deserves special notice as he continues to turn in some of the best acting I’ve seen. Though he’s been working solidly for nearly twenty years in Hollywood, his work from 2014’s underrated “99 Homes” forward has been particularly noteworthy.
Del Toro is a masterful mythmaker. Like most great myths, the film works in broad strokes the best. The fine details may occasionally get in the way if you look too closely at them - but if you’re looking there, you’ve missed the gorgeous colors, sets and mood del Toro has put into play. The love story between the sweet and powerful Elisa (Hawkins does a ton without her voice) and Amphibian Man (wait ‘til you see this fish dance!) brought tears to my eyes.


Of all the films I’ve seen in “Oscar Season”, The Shape of Water most definitely deserves a spot in Oscar’s Best Picture category.

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