The Shape of Water

The Shape of Water directed by Guillermo del Toro has won so many accolades and awards that I just had to watch it as soon as the DVD of the movie hit the shelves here in Miri.  The movie is an other-worldly fairy tale that brings to mind elements of “Beauty and the Beast” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”.

Living alone in an apartment above a movie theater, mute Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) works as a janitor at a secret high-security scientific facility in Baltimore during the Cold War in 1962. Trapped in a life of isolation, her only two friends are her next door neighbour, Giles (Richard Jenkins), a struggling gay advertisement illustrator, and her co-worker, Zelda (Octavia Spencer), an African-American woman who also serves as her interpreter at work.

Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and Zelda discover an aquatic, humanoid creature (Doug Jones) that the scientists are studying. The creature, captured in South America by Colonel Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon), is amphibious, with gills, spines and very sharp teeth. Seeking to exploit the creature for possible advantages in the Space Race, General Frank Hoyt (Nick Searcy) orders that the creature be quite literally, picked apart so the US can extract all its secrets and get one over on the Russians. The creature is described as one of the greatest discoveries in the history of mankind, worshipped as a god in its original environment.

When Eliza sees how horribly the creature is being treated, she tries to connect with him in her resolve to save him. As they get to know each other, Eliza begins to fall in love with him. The way del Toro builds this highly improbable romance is clever. The fact that Elisa is as silent as the creature puts them on an even footing. Because they both communicate through action, they’re equal in the conversation. They grow closer through sign language, body language and music.

The Shape of Water

One scientist, Robert Hoffstetler (Michael Stuhlbarg), who is secretly a Soviet spy, pleads unsuccessfully to keep the creature alive for further study and, at the same time, is ordered by his Soviet spymasters to euthanize the creature. Elisa enlists her neighbour Giles to help free the creature. Hoffstetler discovers Elisa’s plot and chooses to help her. Zelda becomes involved as the escape becomes successful.

Elisa keeps the creature in her bathtub, planning to release him into a nearby canal when it opens to the ocean in several days. As part of his efforts to recover the creature, Strickland interrogates Elisa and Zelda, but the failure of his advance towards Elisa hampers his judgment, and he dismisses them. Elisa and the creature soon become romantically involved, having sex in her bathroom which she at one point floods for him.

Sex scene in The Shape of Water

Hoyt gives Strickland an ultimatum to recover the creature within 36 hours. Meanwhile, Hoffstetler is told by his handlers that he will be extracted in two days. As the planned release date approaches, the creature’s health starts deteriorating. As Hoffstetler leaves to rendezvous with his handlers, Strickland tails him. Hoffstetler is shot by one of his handlers, but Strickland shoots the handlers dead, and then tortures Hoffstetler for information. Hoffstetler implicates Elisa and Zelda before he dies from his wounds. Strickland then threatens Zelda in her home, causing her terrified husband to reveal that Elisa had been keeping the creature. Strickland searches Elisa’s apartment and finds a calendar note revealing where she is taking the creature.

At the canal Elisa and Giles bid farewell to the creature, but Strickland arrives and attacks them all. Strickland knocks Giles down and shoots the creature and Elisa, who both appear to die. However, the creature heals himself and slashes Strickland’s throat. As police arrive on the scene with Zelda, the creature takes Elisa and jumps into the canal, where deep under water he heals her and transforms her neck scars into gills.

They live happily ever after

The story probably sounds a bit absurd but Guillermo masterfully balances elements of sweetness, suspense and excitement, and combines a romantic love story and sci-fi creature tale into a very visually and emotionally powerful experience. Hawkins gave a superlative performance in the movie. She’s always a quiet, thoughtful screen presence, but playing a woman who lacks the power of speech she’s forceful, with feet firmly planted.

If you haven’t watched the movie, enjoy the trailer: