Review of The Shape of Water (2017) by Mark W — 06 Feb 2018

Guillermo del Toro has found himself to be quite the respected filmmaker over the years but, if I had to be brutally honest, I'd have to say that he's really only made a few films that could be classed as 'great' and he's not adverse to being disappointing on occasion. His latest films, Crimson Peak and Pacific Rim received a very mixed reception with the latter, in particular, being a huge misfire for me. That said, I do admire the man's imagination and I keep returning, hoping to see something of the greatness of Cronos, The Devil's Backbone and most importantly his near masterpiece of fantasy, Pan's Labyrinth. His latest, The Shape of Water doesn't quite hit the heights of the latter but that still doesn't stop in from being del Toro's best film for quite some time.

Plot: Working in a hidden, high-security government laboratory, mute cleaner Elisa (Sally Hawkins) stumbles across a secret, unknown amphibian creature (Doug Jones) which is overseen by agent Strickland (Michael Shannon). Not before long, she develops an emotional attachment to this classified experiment that the government see as an "asset". As their relationship develops, Elisa is forced take matters into her own hands which is seen as threat to national security.

The thing that's sets del Toro's fantasies apart from the rest is his ability to mesh then with other genres while also injecting a realistic element to them. The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth benefited greatly from their political undercurrent while also tapping into horror and folklore, respectively. The Shape of Water feels very much in tune with them and on this occasion he taps into the Cold War paranoia of America while also recognising the psyche that plagued the country during the secrecy of the Roswell incident and pays homage to the old Hollywood monster movies of yesteryear.

There's a lot of care and attention went into this; from Nigel Churcher's rich art direction and Dan Lausten's beautifully rendered cinematography which compliment del Toro's vision and evocation of 1960's Americana. It's the kind of meticulous attention to detail that Todd Haynes would be proud of. But again, it's del Toro's ability to create his own niche by giving the film a very European flavour where I was reminded, on quite a few occasions, of Jean-Pierre Juenet's Amelie which is achieved through the magical score by Alexandre Desplat.

It boasts a marvellous central performance from Sally Hawkins who's entirely convincing as a mute where she's so animated and expressive that it's easy to forget that she doesn't actually speak a word (with the exception of singing a musical number) throughout the entire film. Great support too from the imposing and always reliable Michael Shannon and the hugely underrated Richard Jenkins. Jenkins, in particular, brings a much needed light-heartedness to the film and despite being better known for his dramatic chops it's often overlooked just how good his comedic timing is. Here, it's on wonderfully subtle display.

On paper, The Shape of Water probably sounds preposterous but visually and emotionally it's a vibrant experience that manages to be sweet, suspenseful and exciting all in equal measure. Put simply, this really shouldn't work but it's credit to del Toro that it does. He masterfully balances all of these elements and combines a romantic love story and sci-fi creature fable into a very convincing adventure.

Mark Walker.