Movie Review - The Shape of Water
MegaSoulhero The Shape of Water has been out for a few weeks, but I finally got to see it. I didn’t watch the trailers for the film and didn’t even know what it was about before seeing it. I wasn’t even planning on watching it. But after seeing it get nominated for so many awards, I decided to check it out.Sally Hawkins plays a mute woman. Which means she doesn’t talk. She communicates through sign language. Her character works as a janitor in a top secret facility, along with Octavia Spencer who ironically played a maid in a previous movie, and discovers some kind of amphibian type creature. Which Hawkins ends up falling in love with. And she does everything she can to protect him. The thing this movie does best is have heart. The excellent performances really help with this. Sally Hawkins, despite not having any dialogue, does a really great job with expressing her character’s emotions. Octavia Spencer’s character was both great and hilarious. This is only the third movie I’ve seen her in. I’m each movie I’ve seen with her in it, she has always been very excellent. She gets some pretty funny lines in the movie. Her interactions with Sally Hawkins feel very real. Even the antagonist of the film is great. He stops at nothing to succeed at what he’s trying to do. As for the amphibian creature, I wasn’t expecting to like him as much as I did. These types of characters in movies usually tend to annoy me. But he’s actually very interesting because we can see how much he cares about Hawkins. Their relationship never feels forced and fake. It feels very real and genuine. It’s two characters who aren’t able to talk. I just love how characters are able to convey their emotions through their expressions and movements without the use of dialogue. I actually believe that Hawkins and an amphibian creature are in love more than I believe that Padme and Anakin from Attack of the Clones are in love.
Another thing the movie achieves at is cinematography. It’s definitely some of the best cinematography to come from 2017. Just the opening credits scene alone looks amazing. I was also very surprised to see how violent the film was. You have these light hearted moments with the amphibian and Hawkins connecting with each other with some whimsical music. Then you have scenes with guns, blood, and severed fingers. The violence doesn’t feel out of place, though. It’s actually essential to the plot. There are also sex scenes included and I can safely say that they are done MUCH better than the ones in the Fifty Shades films. If I had to point out any problem with the film, it would have to be the pacing. I felt like the movie could’ve been a little longer. There were certain scenes that felt choppy and rushed. The ending also felt very rushed. Other than that, there’s not really a lot to complain about.
The Shape of Water was a very cute movie with a lot of heart. I wouldn’t say it was Best Picture worthy, but it’s still great for what it is. Although, I would’ve enjoyed a little more if someone in the row in front of me hadn’t been texting the entire time! Why do people do that? It is such a distraction! Anyway, Guillermo Del Toro once again proves to us that he is a genius. My next review is gonna be on another thing that Guillermo Del Toro worked on. And it is NOT gonna be a positive review.
Score: 8/10