THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Did you ever wonder what The Creature from the Black Lagoon would look like if it was a love story? Guillermo Del Toro did and he gave us The Shape of Water.
PLOT
The film takes place in 1962 and follows Elisa Esposito, a mute woman who speaks through ASL (American Sign Language). She works as a cleaner at a secret laboratory in Baltimore, Maryland, the Occam Aerospace Research Center. Her only friends are her closeted neighbor Giles, whose struggling as an advertising illustrator, and her co worker Zelda Fuller. A creature has been brought from South America to be studied on for the sake of discovering an advantage in the space race. During a daily night shift for Elisa, she sees the asset creature wound it’s captor Colonel Richard Strickland by biting off two of its fingers from the right hand. When she and Zelda clean up the lab as the floor is covered in blood, she sees the creature for the first time and discovers it to be some kind of humanoid amphibian, credited as The Amphibian Man. For the following days, she would secretly bond with it by feeding him hard boiled eggs, playing music and teaching him ASL. The only people she tells this to are Zelda & Giles. One of the lab’s scientists, Robert Hoffstetler is actually a Russian spy named Dimitri who was assigned to study the creature. Eventually, his studies must come to an end when his superiors order him to euthanize it, to eliminate any chance for the United States in the Space Race. When Elisa finds out that he will soon be dissected by Strickland to develop space travel technology, she tells Giles to consider freeing him. She explains that she grown to deeply care for him because they relate to how they’re both unlike regular people. Giles chooses to help only after his advances on a Dixie Doug's employee get turned down, who also shows his prejudice towards an African couple. He helps out by using his skills as an illustrator to decorate a fake ID and getaway van. When she returns to work, Strickland harasses her, admitting that he is aroused of her silence. She moves forward with her rescue mission by turning cameras away from the enclosure. Dimitri sees what she is doing and helps her free him, due to being fascinated of him as well. He euthanizes a security guard for Giles to enter and briefly shuts down power with a bomb like device. Zelda sees what is happening as well and despite not approving it at all, she allows the escape to happen. With the power shut down and no proof from the cameras, Elisa is able to get the Amphibian Man inside the van and successfully escape. She brings him to her home and keeps him in a bathtub filled with chemicals provided by Dimitri, along with her own set of salt. When she returns to work, she and Zelda are questioned by Strickland if they saw anything, but he doesn’t believe them to be responsible. While Giles tends to the freed asset, he accidentally falls asleep. When the creature roams around the latter’s apartment, he sees one of his cats and eats it. When he gets startled by Giles, he accidentally slashed his arm as he runs away. When Elisa returns in shock of what happened, she finds her other half at the movie theater that is under her apartment. When he returns to the complex, he chooses to make amends with Giles by glowing blue as he touches him, resulting in the latter’s scar to be completely healed and grow back hair at the top of his head. He and Elisa get closer to the point where they discover how to have sex. At one point, they even flood the apartment, which causes the roof of the theater to leak. As days have gone by since the escape, Strickland is given a 36 hour deadline by his superior General Jake Hoyt (Nick Seracy) to get back the Amphibian Man. Dimitri is confronted by his superiors as well and while they’re aware that he allowed the creature to escape, they announce the plan to extract him in two days back to Russia. When Zelda visits Elisa, she notices that the creature’s scales are peeling off and are low on Dimitri’s chemicals. This reminds her friend that he has to be freed. Strickland does follow Dimitri and catch him at his rendezvous. He shoots him and kills his bosses. In his final words, he admits that cleaning ladies freed the asset. Strickland quickly deduces that Elisa & Zelda are responsible since they are the only other people to have seen it. He first confronts Zelda at her home and confronts to know where the creature is. Her husband Brewster (Martin Roach) makes the mistake by admitting Elisa has him. When the colonel leaves, Zelda quickly calls Elisa and warns her to free Amphibian Man before she is caught. She does leave the apartment with Giles and her love, but Strickland catches up when breaking into her home and reading her calendar that she planned to free the beast to the canal. When he gets there, he shoots down both lovers and gets into a fight with Giles. Just when he takes down Giles, Amphibian Man gets back up, heals his own wounds and slashes the throat of the story’s true monster. He then leaves to the canal with Elisa, while Giles watches, including Zelda who arrives with the police. The film ends with the two sharing a kiss underwater as he turns her neck scars into gills.
THOUGHTS
I originally had doubts of this movie because I couldn't believe it to be watchable. After first watching in early 2018, it goes without saying that this film is indeed watchable because it's oddly fantastic. Del Toro and co writer Vanessa Taylor were able to share a unique story that easily transcends genres, making you forget how outlandish it's supposed to be. You never expect a romantic fantasy to be so intriguing, yet it is. Each frame shown by cinematographer Dan Laustsen and whenever you hear the pleasant score by Alexandre Desplat, you get that feeling where you just want to be a part of this world and explore. The reason that film holds up is because it's the most misunderstood we've ever seen. It has a heart that speaks to our need and understanding, while also bringing up the question on whether we should be ugly inside or out. You feel these thoughts as we watch the journey play out with the most intriguing characters. Sally Hawkins straight up gives her greatest performance ever, in the Oscar nominated role of Elisa. She is quite the heroine because her heart encourages her to take risks and explore her own pleasures. At first, she doesn't feel sad that she doesn't fit in as an outsider, but as she got drawn to the Amphibian Man through recognition, she felt understood for the first time. The love she gained for him may sound ridiculous, but remains wholeheartedly sincere throughout. You get a masterclass acting lesson when she explains her feelings to Giles who translates aloud. We feel her heartache through her facial expression because loving a loved one is the most relatable aspect this movie shares. Doug Jones is a champion of creature actors because with every incredibly designed costume he has worn, he instantly becomes such characters and it is no exception in the role of the Amphibian Man. He accurately portrays him as a figure who is harmless than he appears. He falls for Elisa because they relate to the loneliness and being looked at as outsiders. When they're together, they see each other as equals, no matter how different they appear to another. You could say that it is possible for their happy ending to be an illusion, but I believe it to have actually happened because they deserve it. Although the romance between both leads is the biggest highlight, the supporting cast become standouts of their own right. I easily fell in love with Giles because Richard Jenkins portrays him as a man out of time in his Oscar nominated performance. He sadly doesn't mesh well in the generation he lives in because he was born too early for his sexuality to be accepted and too late for his style of artistry. He originally would wave off the plight of others because he felt powerless, but his friendship with Elisa eventually made him stronger and that doing what you can can be enough. He may not have a happy ending like she did, but I feel certain good luck came around for him in the future since he is the one narrating this story. Octavia Spencer gives another home run performance in the Oscar nominated role of Zelda. She stood out as well because she was someone struggled at being heard and respected, but then gained agency through her friendship with Elisa. So seeing a trio of misfits free a fellow outcast made the escape more joyful than intense, which I don't mind. I also enjoyed Michael Stuhlbarg as well because he portrayed Dimitri as one who is a fellow outsider, but is oddly an unsung hero as well. Had he not been infatuated with the Amphibian Man, which originates from his respect to nature, Elisa would never have her happily ever after. Last but not least, we all know that movies like this have a villain who you'd least expect. Michael Shannon gives us that kind of villain when playing Strickland because on paper, he is just doing his job, but the gruesome length he takes to do so makes him the true monster. Rather than feeling one dimensional, he is a caricature of american exceptionalism that defines what it means to be a man in the eyes of a man. He's not evil for the sake of it, but wants to hold on to an illusion of superiority. When someone is desperate to keep something to themselves and grasp perfection, there is brutality along the way to do so. Seeing his severed fingers go gray shows how he shouldn't let his perceived inferior win against him and his final encounter with the Amphibian Man made him humbled on a level playing field. He felt that way in the end because that is a feeling of clarity everyone has before death, you just realize exactly who you are. Even though this film finds a way to be mesmerizing, it doesn't excuse the flaws I caught when re watching. Like for instance, it does look cool that the theater stored some films in the apartment complex, but why? Giles and Elisa may be good tenants, but it's not like they'll live there forever and the ones after them will be as kind as them. There should be a safer place for the films to avoid being stolen. I also thought it was kinda dumb for the door to be left open when Amphibian Man because more than just two tenants could've discovered what was going on with just one glance. It is cute that Giles has a crush on the Dixie Doug's employee, but why does he keep ordering key lime pie? I'm pretty sure he could come up with a new conversation related to pie if he's been a customer for some time. I even find it odd of how Elisa & Zelda were allowed to clean up the private quarters of Amphibian Man without being watched over by security. I know he's in a tank and this helps set up the meet cute between him and Elisa, but he just attacked Strickland. so they should be a little cautious to avoid casualties. If there is one thing that confused me a whole lot was how Elisa snuck in her record player to work and no one heard the music play in the other side of the door. I know we're supposed to root for happiness. but this is the biggest risk she is making before breaking out the one she loves. It's even weirder than the fact that Elisa is only having opportunities to be with Amphibian Man whenever not with Zelda. Like did she ask for schedule to be changed for this to play out? i have a hard time believing that because that would've been Strickland's red flag to separate her from him or even fire her if it came down to it. It is pretty convenient for one of the security cameras to have a blindspot, but how come no one especially Strickland has ever noticed? If there has been a blindspot for so long, someone had to have caught on. That's worse than the fact that Amphibian Man's room never had a camera. And if we're gonna keep talking about continuity errors, how about the fact that an MP guard did not notice Elisa leave the room. The only way I know this is because the guard wasn't on the cart when the other men, so how did he not see her? The guard stood still and firm like a tree, so it's not like he had anything else to do. It was even ridiculous of how General Hoyt spills the beans of what to do with Amphibian Man in front of Elisa when most of the conversation was in Strickland's office. I know we need a reason for Elisa to rescue him, but this is a ridiculous way to make it possible. The General may have the most authority, but that shouldn't excuse him from not being 100% secretive to those he identifies as clueless. That moment is dumber than how he chooses to have Strickland solely capture Amphibian Man when he mostly approached the creature like an extremely important asset. If he is supposed to be so important, then he should be doing everything in his power to retrieve him. I don't want to root for the bad guys, but they really have way too many dumbass decisions. And since Elisa's neighborhood has its nights being active, how come no one noticed Amphibian Man enter the theater? It's crazy believing that no one got curious of the bloody hand mark on the poster. And lastly, I was kinda tripped out of how police officers don't react to Amphibian Man at all before or after he departs. I don't want him to die, but seeing them not speak up of what they're seeing is more odd than not shooting at him. I mean there is a dead body on the floor, so it just feels weird how they don't do anything but watch. Other than that, this movie is still good for what it is. In short, The Shape of Water earns the Best Picture Oscar for being a unique love story that reminds viewers in the most bizarre way that love comes in all shapes and sizes. If we can enjoy this romance, then we can enjoy any and every existing romance. If you want your mind to be opened with love, this film will do the trick.
Kommentarer