[yasr_overall_rating]
In a 1960s research facility, a mute janitor forms a relationship with an aquatic creature.
If you were to ask me what I found so likable or compelling about “The Shape of Water,” I would be hard-pressed to do so. Certainly, the characters are empathetic and complex. There is a brooding air of escalating suspense that resolves itself satisfactorily. The production qualities and visual effects are excellent.
Yet, I wondered how this story about a fantastical Amazonian creature held prisoner in a secret government lab within the context of the Cold War, and the housekeeper who falls in love with him, could continue to occupy my mind for so long after the screening. As much as anything, the answer lies in the ultimate truth that all of the individual pieces work to create a greater whole.
I am told that Sally Hawkins’ breakout role was 2008’s “Happy-Go-Lucky” as Poppy. Here she plays a mute Elisa Esposito and breaks out all over again with a character that that is both charming and delightfully feisty. For someone who doesn’t speak, Hawkins communicates oceans with her sly expressions and evocative manner.
Richard Jenkins plays a quietly tortured gay man who benefits from regular care and feeding by Elisa, living as she does in the apartment next-door. Octavia Spencer is Zelda Fuller, a co-worker who helps translate Elisa’s words to the world and looks out for her interests.
Spencer, Jenkins, and Hawkins have already been nominated for Golden Globe awards – look for one or all of them to receive an Academy Award nomination as well. Personally, my money in on Jenkins to win both the Globe and an Oscar.
Doug Jones is once again a wonderful creation, this time as Amphibian Man. Jones takes the Abe Sapien character from “Hellboy” to an entirely new level. The crispness of the special effects embodied in the latex suit makes it hard to take your eyes away from him during any scene in which he appears.
Michael Stuhlbarg (“Trumbo,” and “Miss Sloane,” among many other titles) is racking up an impressive resume as a character actor. Here he plays a conflicted scientist who wants to study the creature rather than destroy it for the good of the American order.
Michael Shannon is the menacing Colonel Strickland who is actually given a backstory that reveals how he has become a creature himself in service to what is ostensibly decent. Indeed, all of the main characters are tortured in some way. However, it is only the life form from the Amazon that gets its dose in the conventional movie fashion – in this case with a cattle prod that Strickland perversely calls an Alabama how-dee-doo.
A word of caution. While “The Shape of Water” is clearly a fantasy, it is emphatically an adult fantasy. The worldly themes and graphic violence are for grown-up viewers and should not be mistaken for anything otherwise.
“The Shape of Water” is a towering achievement for director del Toro, yet I struggle to articulate exactly why. You’ll just have to see the film for yourself to find out.
In select theaters Friday, December 22nd
