‘The Shape of Water’ is a fantasy drama directed by Guillermo del Toro. It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon and Octavia Spencer in this unlikely love story.
I am going to be honest. This film isn’t going to be for everyone and it wasn’t one I would normally go to see but, having said that, it received a rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. This was part of the reason I decided to go check it out for myself. I found that it was definitely entertaining throughout its 2 hours 3 minute runtime.
‘The Shape of Water’ is about Elisa Esposita (Sally Hawkins); a cleaner at Occam Aerospace Research Facility in Baltimore, USA. She is a mute and was found as a baby “by the river, in the water” with scars on her neck. At the research facility where she works, Esposita comes across what can only be described as a ‘humanoid amphibian’ creature. She discovers that this creature is being treated less than kindly at the research facility and decides to save it. They fall in love along the way.
The film has received critical acclaim. It was nominated for 13 Oscars and won Best Picture, as well as Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Production Design.
Hawkins does a fantastic job. Considering she doesn’t speak a single word (“princess without a voice”) during the entirety of the film, she conveys a lot of emotion.
Director, Del Toro, was famously responsible for ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ and some have said that this is his best work since.
By Narzra Ahmed