Allan Watched "The Shape of Water"
No movie in the last decade has tickled all of the senses quite like The Shape of Water. Visually unforgettable with the perfect musical blend to match, every element of this award-winning film was sculpted beautifully, making it perhaps Guillermo de Toro’s greatest achievement.
Gut Feeling
Rivaled only by Get Out in 2017, The Shape of Water is easily one best films of the 2010’s, if not since the turn of the century. Much like del Toro’s breakout masterpiece Pan’s Labrynth, every inch of The Shape of Water is crafted so carefully on screen, with a beautiful amd unique story to match. Leaving you fulfilled in every possible way, watching The Shape of Water is like eating a Michelin Star meal; every bite is satisfying and you feel yourself actively appreciating what is unfolding in front of you.
Masterful Performances
One satisfying aspect of The Shape of Water that obviously plays into its brilliance is how each role, small or large, is filled with a powerhouse performer, despite no bonafide superstar headlining the cast. Obviously Octavia Spencer and Michael Shannon have had huge successes over the last decade and are two of the greats of this generation, but this film does not have the Emma Stone/J-Law/Bradley Cooper/etc. headlining star. Instead, each role is crafted perfectly within the world class talent littered across this film.
Lost in the shuffle of so many great leading-lady performances in 2017, Sally Hawkins delivers one of the most unique powerhouse performances in some time, and this is easily the best work of her great career. Every movement is “big” as if she is on a stage, but is not distractingly over exaggerated, which could be a pitfall when playing a muted character like Elisa. It is a masterclass in dramatic acting, and I believe she deserved more praise than she received. It is clear why del Toro wrote this role with her in mind.
Michael Shannon is obviously a treasure. No one does reserved, powerful evil quite like Shannon. Although his character Richard Strickland echoes in your head memories of John Givings Jr. or George Mueller, Shannon delivers Richard’s desperate rage wonderfully, and is truly scary. Fill in the rest with marvelous performances by Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg (also of Boardwalk Empire fame), Richard Spencer (Six Feet Under, Step Brothers), and Doug Jones (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) as the fish-man, and you have an overall performance for the ages.
Del Toro’s Best?
There is so much to praise about del Toro’s direction, his script that he wrote with Vanessa Taylor (Hope Springs, Divergent), and the cinematography of Dan Lausten (The League of Extraordinary Gentleman), that I won’t bore you with things that have been praised time and time again. But what really stands out to me was the constant movement of the frame and how it flowed with the story, and the brilliant use of green’s and blues that made this film feel like we were under water. The script left no moment to waste, and made it easy to suspend our disbelief and be cool with the fact that this fish guy is worth saving and is capable of love.
Pre-Rock and Roll Rules
My first thought when the film ended was “damn, people today do not appreciate the music of the 40’s and 50’s enough.” This film is the perfect example of the power those standards wield. The emotions evoked from “You’ll Never Know” and “I Know Why” come so easily, and when paired with the visuals of this film, it makes it all unforgettable. Moral of the story: listen to pre-rock standards of the 40’s and 50’s. It is worth it.
Random Thoughts
No one quotes scripture quite like Michael Shannon.
I know we all suspended our disbelief and all that, but the fact that no one had an issue with Elisa banging this fish man, and were just like “Yasss get it guurrlll” was a little much. Just, like, for health reasons, shouldn’t someone had asked more detailed questions?
There are no title drops in this movie, which I expected, although the closing narration had me thinking there may be one slipped in at the end. Michael Shannon did look Octavia Spencer in the eye and say “The Help,” so that has to count as some meta-title drop. When in the history of film has someone looked at someone and said the exact name of a movie they are famous for? It was honestly distracting.
Also distracting: when Richard Jenkings hits Shannon’s car and says “Did I do that?” like he was Urkel. There had to be a better choice.
I love how traditionally the story is presented. Spencer’s character clearly lets us know this is his perspective and these events already happened, and it is a clean and satisfying way to drop us into the middle of a story.
Universal truth: All men are bad at peeing.
Quick Hits:
How many times have I seen this movie?
Second time all the way through.
Where was I watching it?
In my office, but with nothing distracting me. This film deserves my full attention.
Did Kellye Watch it? If Yes, did she like it? If no, would she like it?
Kellye did not watch it with me, but she was the one who reminded me to watch it. She has seen it multiple times and loves it, and loves when Elisa describes the fish man’s male parts.
Favorite fact I learned from Wikipedia
Del Toro almost made this film in black and white, but would have received $3 million less to make the film if he did. Thank God he used color.
Favorite part
When Elisa is totally unmoved by the fact that she is picking up a dude’s finger and quickly slips the ring into her pocket. It was a good early indication that Elisa gets weird.
Least favorite part
Idk, I am kind of bummed we didn’t see, you know….. it.
Would I recommend this movie and why?
The Academy Awards do not always pick the best film correctly, but it is hard to argue against this one. It may be the best “Best Picture” winner of the 2010s, and you will not be disappointed.
So What Does Allan Give It?
Two Gold Thumbs Up! Overall, a score of 96. Truly one of my favorite movies I have seen in a very long time.
