Compelling & intense fantasy flick

Hollywood, before this film, has never addressed this kind if hatred from extremists or ideology of Islamic terrorists. The latest to join the long line of such villains is Richard Strickland, the Bible-spouting Korean War vet essayed by that fine, but increasingly typecast actor, Michael Shannon in Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar frontrunning fantasy drama.

“Does God look like this creature?” he asks black sanitation worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) alluding to the merman (Doug Jones) he’d brought to Baltimore in the US from South America. “No. God could even look like you, but he probably looks like me.” (white man, he)

Strickland’s behaviour is diabolical: Torture, murder and rape threats to Elisa Esposito, the mute cleaning lady (Sally Hawkins, fantastic)

who has bonded with the amphibious creature, comes easily to Strickland who could well be a latter-day clone of the infamous Grand Inquisitor, Torquemada who mandated torture/death for heresy.

For Strickland, the fishman is an “asset” which must be vivisected for research purpose, for Elisa, it/he is someone to love and be saved and in this noble if illegal endeavour. Assuredly, the expression “Love is blind” is fleshed out sympathetically by del Toro in this beautifully shot interspecies romance. Love, true love, then is caring for the person beyond his or her appearances/deficiencies. I should also say The Shape of

water is very gory, very sensual, very intense and ultimately, whether you like it or not, very compelling.