Film: The Shape of Water

GENRE: Drama, Fantasy, Romance

RATING: R for nudity, sexual content, violence & language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 3 minutes

STARRING: Sally Hawkins (Godzilla, Paddington, Blue Jasmine)

Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire), Octavia Spencer (The Help)

DIRECTOR: Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy)

WRITERS: Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim)

Vanessa Taylor (Divergent, Game of Thrones)

PLOT: A mute janitor falls in love with a top-secret amphibious creature who is being held in captivity.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: Thought this was going to be weird.

STORY STUFF: It was a bit weird. The story is interesting enough and the characters are well formed but the love story just didn’t grab me. A lot of people in the story seem very unfazed by some pretty jarring incidents. I did care about the characters though and was curious how it would end.

ACTING STUFF: Lots of great character actors in this film. Everyone gives a top-notch performance. I really enjoyed Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) as Elisa’s neighbor. For all the fawning over Octavia Spencer, I didn’t find her performance amazing or anything. She’s sassy and has some emotional moments, like most of her films.

ARTISTIC STUFF: This is a very beautifully filmed movie. I always appreciate del Toro’s use of colour. It’s amazing in Pan’s Labyrinth and it is captivating here as well; lot of green. Alexandre Desplat’s (The Imitation Game) score is slightly hypnotic as well.

VERDICT: Three stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You want the monster to get the girl and like the colour green

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Oscar Nominee Predictions