Now that awards season is officially upon us, now is the time to start talking about the films that will most likely take home Academy Awards. The Shape of Water picked up a whopping 13 nominations (the most of any film) and includes Directing, Best Picture, Actress, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Score, Screenplay, Cinematography, Costume Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Film Editing and Production Design nominations. I’ve seen this film twice as of 1/25/2018, and it’s definitely one of my favorites for this year.
If you like Beauty and the Beast, you’ll love The Shape of Water.
The Shape of Water is directed by Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, Hellboy), and stars Sally Hawkins as Elisa, a mute woman who works early mornings as a janitor in a classified military laboratory along with her friend Zelda (Octavia Spencer) and also is the caretaker for an older gentleman next door named Giles (Richard Jenkins.)
After a top secret “asset” is brought into the laboratory (along with the intimidating Richard Strickland, played by Michael Shannon,) Elisa finds herself falling for the beast. The performances in this film are all around great, which is made clear by the Academy’s huge respect for the various actors and actresses. I particularly enjoyed Octavia Spencer’s performance, who is mainly comic relief. Her sassiness and line delivery is just hilarious and was an excellent casting choice for the part.
In terms of casting, however, in an interview with Guillermo Del Toro, he mentioned that he wanted Shape to be more like an adult fairy tale. To me, this was almost exactly like Beauty and the Beast, but Del Toro wanted to change the formula up a bit.
Del Toro wanted a princess protagonist of sorts, but he didn’t want the lead to be super beautiful, like a model. Instead, he wanted audiences to naturally fall in love with her character through her backstory and motivation, and he certainly succeeds. Though Belle is outwardly beautiful, her real beauty lies within, something Del Toro wanted to accentuate through Elisa in the film.
Sally Hawkins as Elisa Esposito and Octavia Spencer as Zelda Fuller, Fox Searchlight
Relating to the Beast, Del Toro mentions that, when he was very young, he watched the horror classic Creature From The Black Lagoon, an older film in which a creepy amphibious creature kills a few people, but then falls in love with a woman. Del Toro felt that “it had to end well for the creature,” but the film ultimately ends in the creature being shot and killed, sinking into the lagoon from whence he came. Within The Shape of Water, Del Toro fulfills his vision of a different ending from Creature.
It’s uncanny how similar Beauty and the Beast and The Shape of Water are, and anyone who enjoyed the musical released earlier in 2017 will certainly enjoy this one. I’ve been explaining it to others as “an adult version of Beauty and the Beast.”
One excellent aspect of this film is the score by Alexandre Desplat. Nearly everything that happens in this film is preceded or enhanced by music. The main theme, fittingly titled “The Shape of Water” is beautiful and not only includes a full orchestra, but interesting instruments spliced in as well, including accordion, pan-flute among others. I still prefer Jonny Greenwood’s score for Phantom Thread but I’m essentially splitting hairs, as both are excellent in every sense of the word, and are rightfully both up for the Academy award.
While it’s technically not Desplat’s own work, there are a lot of songs from classic films and TV shows, with my favorite being “You’ll Never Know” which originally won Best Song at the 1943 Academy Awards:
The film is full of these references to classic movies, and I absolutely adore how they’re used.
In terms of themes, Shape contains quite a few of them, but one I find to be quite apparent is that of “The Other.” This concept of “The Other” relates to the people and struggles that were either left in the dark or are still left in the dark. After all, the main protagonists within the narrative are a mute woman, a closeted gay man, a black woman, and an amphibious beast.
SPOILERS AHEAD
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For instance, Giles is a closeted gay man who finds no safe haven for his being. During this time, especially during the cold-war time, gay men were definitely not accepted. We see Giles struggle with having nowhere to turn for who he is, and when he does, he’s shamed for it.
Later on in the film, we see Giles identify with the beast, who actually ends up being a deity-type being. Giles mentions that “[he] can’t tell if [he] was born too early or too late,” and that maybe both of them are “relics,” not meant to fit inside the time period, referring not only to Giles’ own trade of painting and drawing advertisements, which has become a thing of the past, but also to his sexual orientation.
All any of the protagonists long for is love and acceptance for who they really are, and we certainly see that through the symbolism presented at the very end of the film.
Throughout the entire movie, Del Toro makes a point to show the Elisa isn’t really understood by more than a few people until she meets the beast. Elisa proclaims that what she lacks, the beast doesn’t see, and loves her for who she is.
After Elisa is shot and brought into the water by the beast, her scars on her neck that make her mute turn into gills, showing that Elisa truly was, a fish out of water. Under the water and with the beast, which represents the love and acceptance of “the other,” Elisa can be who she truly is, just like Giles and Zelda could be with more love and acceptance.
Del Toro packs Shape full of symbols like these, and it’s one of the reasons why I enjoyed this film so much.
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SPOILERS END HERE
Bottom line, Guillermo Del Toro’s excellent storytelling is apparent in The Shape of Water and should do quite well at the Oscars. This film has something for everyone, and I’d recommend it to any and all looking for an entertaining, emotional and fun ride.
IS IT WORTH IT?
The Shape of Water, a moving fairy tale about love and acceptance, is masterfully told by Guillermo Del Toro through beautiful cinematography, a wonderful score, and excellent performances. You’ll have nothing to worry about if you choose this one on your next theater visit.
FINAL SCORE: 9.3/10, Worth It
"Unable to perceive the shape of you, I find you all around me. Your presence fills my eyes with your love, It humbles my heart, for you are everywhere..."
