Guillermo del Toro’s Academy Award-winning motion picture "The Shape of Water" has captivated audiences with its poignant tale of a mute custodian falling in love with an amphibious creature. As an incarnation of "Beauty and the Beast," this fantasy romance" "shows that love indeed does conquer all.
But what is it about this fairytale-like motion picture that touches the audience’s hearts? Other than just being another "Beauty and the Beast" love story, the emotional connection between the two characters evokes the role reversal of "The Little Mermaid." A mute human girl, held captive in the mundane existence she leads, desires to escape to a world she longs to be part of: the phantasmagorical underwater fantasy of otherworldliness, which she sees in the god-like creature.
Sally Hawkins’ spectacular performance as the mute Elisa allows the audience see that her desire is more than just a pursuit and wishful thinking. It is in fact liberation from the shackles of the patriarchal rule oppressing her and the caged-up creature held captive in the government facility lab. As the film progresses, the audience intently watches the mute Elisa break her silence, finding her voice through the scheme to rescue the creature from the hands of the sadistic Colonel Strickland, who coldly tortures the creature. And with the help from Russian spy Dimitri Mosenkov (portrayed by Michael Stuhlbarg), her neighbor and best friend Giles (portrayed by Richard Jenkins), and her co-worker Zelda (portrayed by Octavia Spencer), Elisa transgresses into a chivalrous and fearless knight empowered by her resolve to save the creature in distress and to break free from the disillusionment of the star-crossed fate ruling over them.
Towards the end of the film, Elisa dies heroically after being shot by the cold-blooded Strickland, who is then brutally slain by the creature. The creature, afterward, brings the dead Elisa into his arms and takes her underwater, reviving her with true love’s kiss. The two embrace and together, they live happily ever after. At heart, Guillermo del Toro’s "The Shape of Water "is a modern fairytale reminding us that liberation entails everyone to embrace their inner demon, even the darkest ones.