Review of The Shape of Water (2017) by Ultimatmovieguy — 23 Dec 2017

Guillermo Del Toro is back in this under water romance drama. After years of not writing any origional material and staying strictly to directing, he has immerged from the depths of the ocean and arose with a near masterpiece.

The plot being set to a 1960's era with its dark and bleak surroundings is filled with a glimmer of hope everytime Sally Hawkins, Elisa, appears on screen. With the main character being a mute it adds to the whole film with its unique characters and twisty plot.

Shot with reportily less than $20 million dollars as well. This movie is beautiful. Octavia Spencer, gives a great minor performance as a more moral guide for Hawkins and a comic relief in some of its most tense scenes.

Michael Shannon is amazing as the films antagonist and it's moral split on what he wants. And Richard Jenkins is amazing as Hawkins friend who supports her in her decisions in unique ways. And not to forget about the amazing performance by Doug Jones as the amphibian man is amazing.

With such a low budget it doesn't show with its beautifully design sets and props along side with minor special effects and CGI used to accent this movies beauty. Between being in the underground of the lab to the bus rides to looking out Elisa's window to watch the rain and dark city light up.

It's underwater scenes are equally as beautiful as we watch the slow romance build. The only complaint I have on the movie is I wish we got a little more in-depth explanation of a few character's backgrounds and some of their understandings as why they do what they did in the film.

But besides that it's a near flawless movie that's entertaining as hell. Leaving you happy and wanting more from Del Toro.