Oscars 2018: Review- The Shape of Water

The Shape of Water is the next film from the bizarrely beautiful brain of Guillermo del Toro, the twisted mastermind behind Pans Labyrinth. I want you to bear with me as I describe the plot here because it does get pretty wacky but in the world of the film, it all makes sense. Elisa is a mute cleaner at a secret government facility in 1960s Baltimore and she is plagued by isolation. If I said her morning routine isn't too dissimilar to that of Lester Burnham from American Beauty, that would give you a good idea of it. One day, there's a new subject in the facility, one shrouded in mystery but seemingly much more docile than any of the men in control realise. In time, while cleaning his tank, Elisa comes to realise how special this creature is and a bond develops between the two. As a premise, I know that sounds absurd but it's the sincerity that everyone involved gives that allows us as an audience to be carried along with the plot, which goes to some wonderful and weird places.

As the three acting nominations may have made you realise, there's a lot of really good performances in this film. Sally Hawkins leads as Elisa and despite being mute, she is astonishing. Her movements, her little facial gestures, even the way she signs come together to create a fully realised character who will steal your heart without saying a word. Opposite her is Doug Jones as Amphibian Man. Jones has a history of playing weird creatures in del Toro films and it's impressive how he manages to make such distinctions between a creature like this and the weird hand dude from Pan's Labyrinth just from the way he moves because again, he's another silent character. Moving onto people who get to talk though (and Oscar nominated ones at that), Octavia Spencer plays Elisa's work colleague and despite not doing anything revolutionary with that role, she relishes it and brings warmth to some darker moments. Equally warm, there's Richard Jenkins as Elisa's gay neighbour. Again, it's a role that could be cliched but again, Jenkins puts his all into it, creating a really memorable impression on the film. There are two huge snubs though and I really want to talk about them. Michael Stuhlbarg plays one of the scientists working on the creature and while he isn't as incredible as he was in Call Me By Your Name, he still deserves recognition. Second best actor in the film though (in fairness, only because Hawkins is amazing) is Michael Shannon as the evil head of this laboratory. Somehow, he is more monstrous than the literal monster in the film and it's a delight to watch him chew scenery, monologue sinisterly and hit people. Truly, an amazing ensemble.

After doing research once I'd seen the film, there was something I discovered which absolutely blew me away and that was the production budget. See, this is a film that looks exceptional, perhaps even more so than any of del Toro's other films. The sets are beautiful, the special effects (when used) are seamless and the costumes are all brilliant. With any other director, you'd expect a budget around $100 million for a film so visually sumptuous but this film actually manages to cost less than $20 million. That it can cost this much but look better than almost any other film from the last year and even challenge the big superhero blockbusters on the special effects front really does deserve commendation. Also praise worthy is the soundtrack which pulls you into the world effortlessly and really enhances the fifties setting. On that note, when I watched the trailer, I was worried the film would feel somewhat derrivative of the video game Bioshock due to the fifties setting and focus on water but truly, this film feels completely original. There is no film out right now that is as stunningly original as this and goddamn it, that's refreshing.

I wasn't entirely sure how I would react to The Shape of Water but when my heart started to soar in the first five minutes, I knew I was in for a true cinematic treat and consistently, the film delivered on it the whole way through. Even if the premise sounds too weird for you, I beg you, give it a chance and you may be surprised by how endearing the film is. I loved it and will definitely be seeing it a second time which is why I give the film a