Tinsel & Tine’s Look at

THE SHAPE OF WATER

By Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

I stated in my End of the Year Wrap Up Post, that only very special movies, or special to me, would get a full post, and all other wide release films would be reviewed on my #MiniMovieReview page.  It’s not yet the new year and already writer/producer/director Guillermo del Toro’s THE SHAPE OF WATER, with 7 Golden Globe Nominations, falls into the first category. “The Shape of Water” is a love story, espionage thriller and monster movie all rolled into one.  Sally Hawkins plays a mute cleaning woman at a high-security government facility in early 1960s Baltimore, when an agent played by Michael Shannon brings in a mysterious creature (Doug Jones) part man, part fish captured in South America, the cleaning woman falls for the creature and wants to help it escape.

Del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“Hellboy” “Crimson Peak” “Pacific Rim”) is one of those filmmakers
considered an auteur. His films are incredibly stylized – with this one, the film conveys a vintage dingy quality, whether taking place in the cleaning woman’s shabby chic art-deco apartment above an art-house movie theater or the mysterious lab where they hold, poke and prod “The Asset”. The opening underwater scene of her apartment filled to the ceiling with greenish water and floating furniture, together with the ending underwater scene with the floating red shoe, are beautifully melancholy and visually stunning. Del Toro’s last movie, “Crimson Peak” encompassed the color red, not just in visuals but in the script. “The Shape of Water” with the exception of the shoe, is punctuated with the color green throughout.

While You’re Here

Check out T & T’s post on CRIMSON PEAK

Hawkins is able to convey everything the story needs without uttering a word. Yet her
muteness also allows Richard Jenkins as her gay neighbor and best friend and Octavia Spencer as her chatty co-worker to shine with entertaining monologues. Shannon may go in a bit too hard representing the type of white male who feels so un-empowered he therefore must dominate anything or anyone he deems inferior; however the scenes with his fingers are wonderfully gross. The film for the most part lived up to and exceeded my expectations, with the exception of the scenes involving the Russians, cold war, first man on the moon race stuff. This never quite jelled to the rest of the movie and needed a better execution.

Guillermo del Toro has said his 25 years of filmmaking have lead him to The Shape of Water and it’s by far the favorite of his movies. It was made with a relatively small budget of 19.5M and it took him nearly 3 years prior to getting the movie made to perfect the look of the Fish/God, having been obsessed with an Amphibian Man since watching Creature of the Black Lagoon type films as a kid. He’s never been interested in monsters as horror, but rather as parable figures used to tell political, humanist and artistic fables.

The film is full of humanity and humor and a love note to the movies and musicals of the 30’s and 40s’. del Toro also explains that the movie is called The Shape of Water because it speaks about love – “Love and Water are the two strongest forces in the Universe because they are malleable and flexible, they take no form and they break through everything”.

T & T’s LAMB (movie bloggers association) Score: 4.5 outta 5

Shape of Water was my choice for Best Movie of 2017 – Be sure to check out my post on Best, Worst and In Between Movies of the past year!

click to COMMENT

The Shape of Water’s soundtrack is lovely and haunting particularly Renee Flemming’s version of  “You’ll Never Know”:

Share 🙂

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

While you’re here click below buttons to check out…

T&T NEWSLETTER
Subscribe for Free Screening Passes & Food Related Giveaways

#PHILLYCALENDAR

MINI MOVIE REVIEWS & COMING ATTRACTIONS

#PHILLYSPOTLIGHT

Tinsel & Tine (Reel & Dine): Philly Film, Food & Events Blog