The Shape of Water
3/4
Starring: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones
Rated R for Sexual Content, Graphic Nudity, Violence and Language
Guillermo del Toro has never been afraid to take a chance. He decided to cast character actor Ron Perlman in the title role of "Hellboy" over the studio's preference of Vin Diesel. He directed what is probably the most violent fairytale ever to put to film with "Pan's Labyrinth," even making it in Mexico with a lot less money so as to not compromise his vision. A wise move, considering how horrible "Mimic" was for him to make with the constant interference of Bob Weinstein. That it still turned out well is a testament to his talent or willpower. Probably both.
With "The Shape of Water," del Toro once again plumbs his love of fairy tales to create a 1960's version of "Beauty and the Beast." And once again, he has made it strictly for adults; this movie is at times graphic both sexually and violently (the R rating is well deserved). And while his vision is too ambitious for such a skinny running time, those flaws in no way prevent me from giving it a hearty recommendation.
Eliza Esposito (Hawkins) is a shy cleaning lady at a government research facility in Washington DC. Unable to speak since birth, she relies on sign language and the assistance of her chatty friend Zelda Fuller (Spencer) to communicate. One day a mysterious man named Richard Strickland (Shannon) comes into the lab with a big water tank. In it is humanoid amphibian (Jones) from the Amazon. Strickland believes that studying him will help them win the space race against the Soviets. What neither he nor his lead scientist Dr. Hoffstetler (Stuhlbarg) count on is Eliza falling in love with the creature.
del Toro's best quality is his boundless creative vision for all sorts of wild and interesting creatures. Amphibian Man isn't one of his best, but he's creative and detailed enough to get the job done. His appearance is certainly striking, and del Toro regular Doug Jones does a superb job as always giving him personality through movement. Jones never gets recognized for his stunt work, but he should. Everyone is talking about Sally Hawkins, who is good (for those like me, who find her quavering voice a trifle irritating, her lack of speech is an asset), but I'd like to see the conversation turn to Jones. He should, but won't get, an Oscar nomination.
The cast is made up of top quality character actors, and all are at their best. Hawkins does a lot with only her hands and face to communicate, although there are subtitles and she does get a short fantasy musical number. Michael Shannon turns up the nasty as Strickland; Shannon has played a number of villains before, but this is one of his most menacing. Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer do their jobs as Eliza’s gay neighbor Giles and co-worker Zelda.
The problem is that del Toro spends too much time creating backstories for the supporting players rather than focusing on the most important element in the movie: the love story. Do we need to see Giles’s attempts at seducing the hot server of a local pie shop? Or Strickland’s home life? Not really. They’re good scenes so the film never gets boring, but the trade-off is that the growing bond between Eliza and Amphibian Man is rushed. As a result, we understand it mentally, but not emotionally. It also has the unfortunate result of making the implied love scene between the two weird and a little creepy as opposed to romantic.
That said, I did enjoy myself enough to give it a 3/4.
Starring: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones
Rated R for Sexual Content, Graphic Nudity, Violence and Language
Guillermo del Toro has never been afraid to take a chance. He decided to cast character actor Ron Perlman in the title role of "Hellboy" over the studio's preference of Vin Diesel. He directed what is probably the most violent fairytale ever to put to film with "Pan's Labyrinth," even making it in Mexico with a lot less money so as to not compromise his vision. A wise move, considering how horrible "Mimic" was for him to make with the constant interference of Bob Weinstein. That it still turned out well is a testament to his talent or willpower. Probably both.
With "The Shape of Water," del Toro once again plumbs his love of fairy tales to create a 1960's version of "Beauty and the Beast." And once again, he has made it strictly for adults; this movie is at times graphic both sexually and violently (the R rating is well deserved). And while his vision is too ambitious for such a skinny running time, those flaws in no way prevent me from giving it a hearty recommendation.
Eliza Esposito (Hawkins) is a shy cleaning lady at a government research facility in Washington DC. Unable to speak since birth, she relies on sign language and the assistance of her chatty friend Zelda Fuller (Spencer) to communicate. One day a mysterious man named Richard Strickland (Shannon) comes into the lab with a big water tank. In it is humanoid amphibian (Jones) from the Amazon. Strickland believes that studying him will help them win the space race against the Soviets. What neither he nor his lead scientist Dr. Hoffstetler (Stuhlbarg) count on is Eliza falling in love with the creature.
del Toro's best quality is his boundless creative vision for all sorts of wild and interesting creatures. Amphibian Man isn't one of his best, but he's creative and detailed enough to get the job done. His appearance is certainly striking, and del Toro regular Doug Jones does a superb job as always giving him personality through movement. Jones never gets recognized for his stunt work, but he should. Everyone is talking about Sally Hawkins, who is good (for those like me, who find her quavering voice a trifle irritating, her lack of speech is an asset), but I'd like to see the conversation turn to Jones. He should, but won't get, an Oscar nomination.
The cast is made up of top quality character actors, and all are at their best. Hawkins does a lot with only her hands and face to communicate, although there are subtitles and she does get a short fantasy musical number. Michael Shannon turns up the nasty as Strickland; Shannon has played a number of villains before, but this is one of his most menacing. Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer do their jobs as Eliza’s gay neighbor Giles and co-worker Zelda.
The problem is that del Toro spends too much time creating backstories for the supporting players rather than focusing on the most important element in the movie: the love story. Do we need to see Giles’s attempts at seducing the hot server of a local pie shop? Or Strickland’s home life? Not really. They’re good scenes so the film never gets boring, but the trade-off is that the growing bond between Eliza and Amphibian Man is rushed. As a result, we understand it mentally, but not emotionally. It also has the unfortunate result of making the implied love scene between the two weird and a little creepy as opposed to romantic.
That said, I did enjoy myself enough to give it a 3/4.
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