Friday, December 29, 2017

The Shape of Water

Plot:
Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is a mute janitor working at a top secret research facility in the 1960s. One day she and her coworker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a mysterious, and classified, creature being kept there.

Pros:
•I have been waiting for so long for this movie to play at a theater near me. Now it is, I’ve seen it, and boy I wasn’t disappointed. WOW!! Guillermo del Toro has once again created another beautiful, unique adult fairytale that I’ve absolutely fallen in love with. 
•Only del Toro can tell a story about a romance between a woman and a fishman and make it convincing. It’s actually pretty sweet. 
•The creature design was really cool. I wish they hadn’t given away what he looks like in the trailers. Would’ve been a nice surprise. 
•Stunning cinematography. Loved the blue and green color tones throughout. 
•Hauntingly beautiful score by Alexandre Desplat. 
•Sally Hawkins deserves all the Oscar buzz she’s getting. There’s no spoken dialogue for her character, instead relying on her facial expressions and sign language. It’s amazing and definitely one of the best performances I’ve seen this year. 
•Another actor who I think deserves just as much recognition is Richard Jenkins. His character is very interesting and I felt a lot of sympathy for him. 
•Michael Shannon is Michael Shannon. Had anyone else played this character it would’ve come off as just another over the top, cartoonish villain but of course he made it work. 
•I can totally see people not liking this movie. It certainly not for everyone. But if you’re a del Toro fan like me I think you’ll love it. 

Cons:
•My only real complaint, and it’s nothing major, was Octavia Spencer. She’s fine in this, but really it’s just the same character she’s been playing for the last couple of years. Would’ve liked to have seen something different. 

My Rating: 9/10

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