Cinema Prescription

Synopsis: Elisa is a mute, isolated woman who works as a cleaning lady in a hidden, high-security government laboratory in 1962 Baltimore. Her life changes forever when she discovers the lab’s classified secret — a mysterious, scaled creature from South America that lives in a water tank. As Elisa develops a unique bond with her new friend, she soon learns that its fate and very survival lies in the hands of a hostile government agent and a marine biologist.
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer
Screenplay: Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

Beyond its hybrid genre of romance, dark fantasy, comedy, Russian espionage and a cold war film noir, Guillermo del Toro’s THE SHAPE OF WATER really is, at its core, a simple love story between an unlikeliest pair. This beauty and the beast kind of story is definitely not completely new, but del Toro manages to put a fresh spin into it, and make it truly his own creature. His passion and love for monsters and classic movies really are palpable on screen.

This film really has a unique contrast of light and dark elements. Mixing the surprisingly funy dialogues to the macabre pieces Bu it especially represented in Sally Hawkins’ Elisa. She’s floating through innocent and sexually charged woan effortlessly. Almost without any words spoken, she succesfully conveys her emotions through her hand gestures and facial expressions. Thus making her bold performance as one of the best last year is an understatement. And the rest of the cast is incredible too; the always sassy Octavia Spencer, the sentimental Richard Jenkins, and the dark comic villain Michael Shannon.

From the gorgeous green-drenched cinematography to the playfully dark score and the exquisitely bizzare CGI of the creature, Guillermo del Toro’s THE SHAPE OF WATER is a wonderfully weird, whimsical adult fairy tale, that celebrates unconditional love, acceptable and standing up for being different and being misunderstood. [A-]

A copy of my review on Instagram.