The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
A dark beauty
All the components of ‘The Shape of Water’ come together to make wonderful whole
It’s hard to settle on the best component of writerdirector Guillermo del Toro’s excellent monster movie-romance mashup, “The Shape of Water.”
Is it star Sally Hawkins’ exquisite and moving performance as a mute janitorial worker who finds meaningful companionship in the unlikeliest of places?
Or is it that of her male counterpart, Doug Jones, who gives an emotionally riveting performance despite the fact he is covered head-to-toe in elaborate prosthetics.
Perhaps it’s the work of director of photography Dan Lausten, who so magnificently captures on film del Toro’s vision, or even the editing of Sidney Wolinsky who makes the film flow fluidly — yes, like water — from one captivating shot to the next.
Despite all these worthy candidates, it has to be del Toro, who has turned his childhood love of “Creature From the Black Lagoon” into a loving homage to that 1954 film that, despite being set during the Cold War, also feels fresh and vital. The director of the “Hellboy” films and the excellent “Pan’s Labyrinth” has made one of his best films.
Hawkins stars as Elisa, a lonely janitorial worker in a high-security U.S. government facility in 1962. Elisa has a friend in coworker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) and another in her gay neighbor, Giles (Richard Jenkins), but she doesn’t have that truly special person in her life, perhaps due in part to a childhood event that left her with visible scars on her neck and without the ability to speak.
As Zelda laments to Elisa that their job entails cleaning the urine of some of America’s brightest minds off the floor, those top men in the facility are dealing with a creature brought in by fierce government agent Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon). (Strickland, by the way, is a really swell guy who carries a cattle prod and, as he explains to the ladies in the restroom, he doesn’t wash his hands before AND after relieving himself because it shows weakness.)
While cleaning the room where the creature is kept in water but restrained, Elisa begins to make a connection with him, first offering one of the boiled eggs she has brought from home. This forbidden encounter leads to others — and more eggs, along with music, played by Elisa for the creature on a small record player. He, like she, can’t communicate verbally, but communicate with one another they do.
The rest of the creature’s time at the facility isn’t so pleasant, Strickland using the cattle prod on what he sees as a monster — one who could be useful against the Russians — whenever he sees fit.
As it becomes apparent the creature may not be long for this world, Elisa decides she must act, recruiting a reluctant Giles and, eventually, Zelda, into her efforts. She also finds an ally in a scientist at the facility, Dr. Robert Hoffstetler (Michael Stuhlbarg), who also doesn’t want harm to come to the creature.
Hawkins (“Paddington,” “Godzilla”) recently earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in “The Shape of Water,” and it is very much deserved. Her work is at times necessarily big and at others expertly nuanced.
And Jones — also doing great work on the new series “Star Trek: Discovery” and a del Toro regular, having appeared in the director’s aforementioned films and others — offers such an impressive piece of work considering he is unrecognizable in the costume of the amphibious man, as the creature is called in the press materials. (Those costume and make-up artists responsible for his incredible look also deserve a great deal of credit for making the character memorable — and make a compelling case for having fewer computer-generated otherworldly beings in films.)
Nice supporting work is turned in by Spencer (“Hidden Figures,” “The Help”), Stuhlbarg (“Miss Sloane,” the most recent season of “Fargo”) and, especially, Jenkins (“Kong: Skull Island,” “Olive Kitteridge”), who compels you to root for a happy ending for Giles, Elisa and the creature.
And while Strickland feels similar in ways to several other villains portrayed by Shannon (“99 Homes,” “Nocturnal Animals”), it’s nonetheless fine work by the actor.
He shares some fiery scenes with fellow “Boardwalk Empire” alum Stuhlbarg as Strickland and Hoffstetler are increasingly at odds. And he has some fascinatingly uncomfortable scenes with Hawkins — thanks to what we learn about some of Strickland’s bedroom preferences.
Ultimately, del Toro is telling a pretty simple story in “The Shape of Water,” but he tells it so beautifully — with the help of co-writer Vanessa Taylor (“Divergent,” “Game of Thrones”). Their writing matches the gothically gorgeous look of the film so well.
The best moments are those shared between Elisa and the creature — lovingly constructed, performed and
captured by all involved. They’ll stick with you.
“The Shape of Water” is a nice rebound for del Toro, whose 2015 fantasy-horror film “Crimson Peak” was likewise gorgeous — shot, not surprisingly, by Laustsen — but didn’t deliver on its dramatic potential.
This film, nominated for the Golden Globe Award for best drama film, does — and it is one of the best of the year.