Review of The Shape of Water (2017) by David L — 06 Feb 2018

This is fantasy storytelling at its best, always balanced and well designed. The direction and production are flawless and precise; it reminds me of the best films by Stanley Kubrick in its approach and craftsmanship. The design of the film is very well planned, the gloomy, dark blue green atmosphere with retro mechanical devises and furniture combined and of course together with the creature give that special Del Toro feeling that now is so characteristic of his films like "Pan's Labyrinth" "Crimson Peak" "Hellboy" "The Devils Backbone" and many others both as director and writer.

I suppose the creature is the same from the film "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" from 1954 who as far as I know, was also misunderstood and mistreated, this is not strange Del Toro is surely a fan of old monster and adventure films from the past. What is really extraordinary with his films is that all these "creatures" or "monsters" have a human dimension and breathe in the realm of empathy just as other normal human being would, so this creature has a special quality that is very related to humans but at the same time, there is no way out: it is a beast, ambivalence which creates an interesting situation, similar to the one in "Pan's Labyrinth" with unknown consequences for the characters involved. So it's not necessary with so much explanation for where is this creature from or how was it taken, only a few short words that it is coming from the swamps of the jungle somewhere in the far south.

Del Toro goes even farther out than Mary Shelley with the feelings of his monster as he makes him almost human in some aspects, special when it comes to his libido where together with his innate empathy for other beings that are nice with him, can express it wonderfully. And I must say that all the actors make a very good job, each with a very distinctive personality, the cruel torturist, the well-intended, the helpful, the leader, even the homosexual is represented and acting extremely well. All in all I must say I enjoyed this film and popcorn was very well spent. Highly recommended.