The Shape of Water

Dir: Guillermo del Toro

2017

****

It’s funny how Guillermo del Toro has remained a household name all these years when you think about it, as his first few films; Cronos, Mimic and The Devil’s Backbone were overlooked by the mainstream and Blade II and Hellboy were only really embraced by the comic-read nerds. To be fair Hellboy did very well, but the follow up wasn’t as well received as the first. Pan’s Labyrinth got the attention of many as mainstream audiences were opening their minds to world cinema but again, this was followed by Pacific Rim, more Hellboy and Crimson Peak. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan and I’ve loved pretty much everything he’s done, it’s just strange how he has gone from Cronos – one of the greatest vampire/fantasy/horror films ever made, to The Shape of Water, both films are very much of the same ilk, yet one is still overlooked and the other is heralded as one of the greatest films of the year. I wonder how Cronos would do if it were released in now? I’m pretty sure The Shape of Water would remain a cult hit enjoyed by the not so many if it had been made in 1993. While I’m glad films like The Shape of Water are now reaching mainstream audiences, I do feel a little frustrated that it has taken so long. I also feel a little bit sad that film like this that would once have been cult hits and no longer exclusive to those who went to the effort of finding them out. I’m waffling and talking nonsense I’m sure, I just feel a little sad for great films such as Delicatessen, Crimewave and indeed Cronos, that were made around the same time. I digress, The Shape of Water is many things, each one of those things being a success. At its core though is nostalgia. This is a movie made by a brilliant film maker and a prolific lover of all things celluloid. It is beautiful. The set pieces are stunning, the cinematography sublime and the colours pop right out of the screen. I actually thought it was style of content at first but the story does catch up. Even though I didn’t think the editing or overall compositions in the film were that great, I adored the detail. The greens of 1950s cinema come through beautifully, it’s somewhere between The Wizard of Oz and The Red Shoes, hammered home even more so by Richard Jenkins’ character – an advertising painter – having to change a painting depicting a family eating red jelly, to green jelly. The rich red ceilings, the ‘teal’ Cadillac and the ‘Chicago Frieze’ wallpaper from Bradbury & Bradbury, it all looks perfect. The visual style of the era is matched by the exploration of the ideals of era, the hypocrisy of the Cold War, as well as the trends, art and fantasy enjoyed by a post-war society. The idea that Sally Hawkins’ character was an everyday version of Audrey Hepburn was rather lovely. Hepburn typically played everyday women, when she was far from ‘everyday’, but somehow Hawkins is more beautiful as she seems more authentic, more real, so while this is a fantasy film full of nostalgia, it kind of feels like it really is happening, albeit in 1962. Hawkins is Hepburn, Doug Jones is The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Michael Shannon is the government agent in the black suit – all three are perfectly cast and brilliant in their respective performances. The two supporting roles are, however, the really special ones. Octavia Spencer plays Hawkins’ friend, co-worker and interpreter and is thus the voice of our main character. Richard Jenkins is the same, but from a more personal viewpoint. Spencer is obviously black and Jenkins’ character is openly gay – two people who would never have had such high billing or as much dialogue back in the 1950s/1960s. It’s clearly an updated tribute to the era. However, del Toro has always explored that that made him scared as a child, here he looks at a bygone era that echos our current climate that scares him as an adult. The themes cross many lines, you can read a lot into the plot and you’d probably be correct each time, but I guess at its heart is a story of love and acceptance. It’s Beauty and the Beast but set in the early 1960s, with the beast replaced by The Creature from the Black Lagoon. It’s a neat idea, with a great set and brilliant performances. I like it a lot but I don’t think it really deserves the hype it has received. The story itself is borrowed from many different sources, it’s a great tribute but one we’ve seen before and done in a similar style. I can see so many influences in The Shape of Water that I’m honestly not sure what actually belongs to del Toro. To be honest I see too much of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro in the film for comfort, plus the story is almost exactly the same as Paul Zindel’s Let Me Hear You Whisper and has strong connections with Rachel Ingalls’ Mrs. Caliban. Del Toro apparently approached Hawkins with the idea at an Oscar after party in 2015. He has since said he was rather drunk at the time and it wasn’t a plot that would make a person sound any less drunk – indeed, it’s a great idea – it’s just a little unfortunate that other people had it first. I enjoyed the film very much, the set creators and actors should be congratulated, It’s wonderful that del Toro has brought it to screen so wonderfully but it’s not really his, and that is the film’s big flaw. Indeed, I think I would have liked it a little more had someone like Jean-Pierre Jeunet directed it. I’m starting to think that del Toro is a producer, rather than a director, at least since 2008 anyway - everything up until then has been sublime, even Blade II, which should have been rubbish.