An emotionally and visually beautiful film brought to life by the creative genius of Director Guillermo del Toro

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Cast: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance

The Shape of Water is a highly imaginative film with multiple themes. It is technically very sound with its great direction, cinematography, editing, musical score and production design. But apart from this, it also has a lot of heart largely due to the amazing lead performance of Sally Hawkins.

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The movie is set in the 1960s, during the Cold War, and follows Elisa Esposito (played by Sally Hawkins), a mute woman who works as a cleaner at a secret government laboratory. ‘Atmosphere’ is a key aspect of the film and Guillermo del Toro succeeds in creating a highly immersive one that seems to the real and surreal. This makes the film look like a fairy tale but in the real world setting.

The story is about how Elisa forms a relationship with a ‘humanoid-ambhibian’ creature that is being held captive in the government facility. Now, this might sound like a weird and even creepy case of ‘woman falls in love with a fish-creature’ but it is anything but. Not everything in the film is to be taken in the literal sense as its themes and messages are metaphorical in nature.

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One of the themes that can be derived from the film is the universality of love. Elisa can speak no words but she is able to share her feelings with the creature, who also cannot speak. The Shape of Water basically redefines the meaning of ‘the Beauty and the Beast’This largely works due to the charm that Sally Hawkins adds to the screen. She is able to make her character one that you instantly fall in love with. Octavia Spencer and Michael Shannon also give solid supporting performances. Some social and political commentary can also be derived from the narrative as it is set during the Cold War, where tensions between the US and Soviets are high.

I felt the film was not evenly paced at times. Sometimes, the plot progressed too slow and sometimes too fast. But this didn’t affect the overall tone on the film too much.

‘The Shape of Water’ does seem like a spiritual successor to Del Toro’s ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006) but not as good though. Nevertheless, there is a lot to like about this film. It is an immersive adventure full of heart and warmth!

FINAL RATING: 4/5

Written By: Shahzad Virani

Co-written by: Komal Virani