The Shape Of Water

This review may contain spoilers!

If you can get past the weird concept behind this film you're presented with what is a surprisingly intriguing love story. I would give The Shape Of Water an 8/10.

This is marketed as a gothic fairytale and it's hard to imagine what that means until you visualise it, but once it unfolds you can't help but be enthralled by the whimsy, enchantment and tragedy that manages to be interlaced throughout the narrative. The film has a strength in that many of the protagonists are so genuinely likeable, especially Elisa. This is well contrasted by the dark facility within which our main protagonist works; where mystery and thuggish men are around every corner. You are placed in a setting that tackles some of the gender, sexuality and race issues of the time as a setting while portraying this fascinating tale of an otherworldly love. The cinematography is pure magic, capturing elaborate sets and managing to make a scene feel intimate and intense even while remaining in motion. The score for the film is light and keeps you delighted, inviting you deeper into the tale (as any good fairy tale should); while the soundtrack is a real ode to classic ballads and the magic they hold.

Sally Hawkins, who played Elisa Esposito, is a character who seems distant to others and yearns for a greater sense of companionship throughout; her kindly optimism and fierce determination make for a wonderful leading role to watch. Richard Jenkins, who played Giles, is quite a skittish and uncertain presence during the events of the film; I greatly enjoy the relationship between Jenkins and Hawkins, it reveals a soft side to this role which I liked a fair deal. Octavia Spencer, who played Zelda Fuller, was a confident and well-spoken confidant to Hawkins' role throughout; she had a stern streak and that signalled an underlying loyal quality to her character. Michael Stuhlbarg, who played Dr Robert Hoffstetler, is quite a cold character who feels detached from everything apart from his work on the creature; Stuhlbarg does a wonderful job of portraying the duality of his role and the secret identity he kept. Doug Jones, who played Amphibian Man, does a wonderful job at playing both the instinctual side of his role but also the more subtle moments where his role's sentience shines through; Jones' reveals multiple sides to this role constantly at times being a vicious beast, a delicate explorer or an intimate lover. Nick Searcy, who played General Hoyt, is a commanding and intimidating minor antagonist throughout the plot; Searcy has a great way of delivering his lines, there are several powerful scenes where he humiliates Stuhlbarg and Shannon's roles rather forcefully.

However, the best performance came from Michael Shannon, who played Richard Strickland. This is a very patriarchal character, he's commanding and violent; this is a character who practically exudes confidence. All in all? He's probably going to be the biggest onscreen jerk of 2018. Shannon plays an incredible bully and thug, lording his authority and power over those he deems lesser than himself. Yet he is always faced with challenges of impotency, moments in which he lacks the power he wishes he had. The seething temper and deep fear of failure make this antagonist one truly thrilling and unpredictable performance to watch.

This film has a concept that is quite unique and difficult to pull off; one of the things you can't really escape from as an audience member is that this is a woman romantically fascinated by a fishperson. Even as someone who understood what the concept was and what I would be seeing I found myself uncomfortable at moments within the narrative and you really have to expect what you're in for with this film. The feature also slows down quite a bit after moments of escalation, resulting in a pace that can drag at points throughout the feature. The editing for the film didn't complement the visual style, crafting scenes that felt slow paced to watch more than anything else.

David Hewlett, who played Fleming, tries a little too hard as the bumbling henchman figure to Shannon; Hewlett's stammering line delivery feels forced and he never really lends much range to his character.