THE SHAPE OF WATER (2018) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

the shape of water (2018) movie

Genre              |   Fantasy Thriller

Classification   |   M

Running time   |   123 minutes

Released         |   18 January 2018

cast

Sally Hawkins ... Eliza Esposito
Michael Shannon ... Strickland
Richard Jenkins ... Giles
Octavia Spencer ... Zelda
​Doug Jones ... Amphibian Man

director

​​Guillermo del Toro

writer

​Guillermo del Toro ... (screenplay by) &
Vanessa Taylor ... (screenplay by)
 
Guillermo del Toro ... (story by)

cinematographer

​Dan Laustsen

music

​Alexandre Desplat

film editor

​Sidney Wolinsky

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box office result

Worldwide             $​92,912,086

Australia                 $​2,537,097

North America       $53,841,575

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the best dialogue

​Giles: If I spoke about it - if I did - what would I tell you? I wonder. Would I tell you about the time? It happened a long time ago, it seems. In the last days of a fair prince's reign. Or would I tell you about the place? A small city near the coast, but far from everything else. Or, I don't know... Would I tell you about her? The princess without voice. Or perhaps I would just warn you, about the truth of these facts. And the tale of love and loss. And the monster, who tried to destroy it all.

Strickland: [to Elisa] What'd you say to me?
Elisa: [in sign language] F - U - C - K
Strickland: What is she saying?
Elisa: Y - O - U
Zelda: Uh, I, I didn't catch it.
Strickland: [kicks the desk; pointing at Elisa] WHAT IS SHE SAYING?
Zelda: She, she is sayin' "Thank you"!

Zelda: Man is as silent as the grave. But if farts were flattery? Honey, he'd be Shakespeare.

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THE SHAPE OF WATER (2018) MOVIE IMAGES

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THE SHAPE OF WATER (2018) STORY SYNOPSIS

​An other-worldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa's life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.

THE SHAPE OF WATER (2018) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 16 January 2018
Pop ​Movee Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

​Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape Of Water is a dark Fantasy with a fair dash of Romance and a respectful nod to the era of bygone, classic Hollywood Musicals. Del Toro, and co-scribe Vanessa Taylor, take the viewer on a wondrous journey, examining the nature of men and of humanity. They stop to pose the question, “Does God exist?”. They even take the time to highlight how far humans have come in their attitudes toward each other, incorporating a liberal dose of social commentary into their broad-ranging narrative. It’s not always a vibrant canvas of colour. The film’s muted tones and low-key lighting help to reinforce that not all the film’s characters are filled with good intention, but, when it’s pared down to its most elemental idea, The Shape of Water is the story of how love can blossom no matter the adversity thrown down before it.

The Shape Of Water opens with the voice of Richard Jenkins’ character Giles, pondering the nature the of the story Del Toro’s film is about to embark upon. As Giles elaborates, Del Toro utilises a wonderful visual device that sets his heroine’s apartment entirely underwater. As the camera pushes in closer to Sally Hawkins’ Eliza Esposito, the water slowly recedes, allowing her to land softly on the lounge upon which she’s been sleeping. It’s such an inventive opening scene and gives the viewer pause to consider whether or not they’re watching somebody’s dream from afar OR the viewer themselves have been drawn into to this liquid landscape and will now bare witness to the story from close quarters. Del Toro is a great visual storyteller, but the opening scene highlights the two stock shots that he loves to utilize through all of his films. The first is the long framing shot that gives the viewer a sense of where everything is, relative to the action. The is a pretty standard shot, but Del Toro uses it to quickly orientate the viewer because then segues to his most favoured shot; an unusual variation on the “Close-up”. Del Toro places the camera at about the same height or, in some cases, just below the actor’s eye level and tends to linger on the their face for longer periods than most filmmakers would normally consider appropriate. This gives the viewer a sense that they’re not just viewing the story. It’s designed make them feel part of the story. The Shape Of Water sees Del Toro at the top of his game in respect of this second stylistic device. Certain scenes involve the viewer so closely with the actors that there’s almost a need to avert one’s eyes just to give the character a little privacy. Perhaps it is the unique subject matter that causes this reaction… It’s not everyday audiences are presented with a story that sees the main character embark upon a romantic relationship with a non-human, amphibious creature from the wilds of South America!

As wild as it may sound, Del Toro and Taylor treat the subject matter with the utmost respect and the relationship between Eliza and Doug Jones’ Amphibian Man develops very naturally. What’s even more remarkable is that Sally Hawkins’ Eliza is mute and uses sign language for the great majority of the time. Hawkins manages to convey a full range of emotion throughout the film and it’s very easy to miss the complexity of her performance because she makes just a handful of sounds throughout the film’s 123 minute running time. Hawkins’ Co-stars, Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer, as Zelda, provide the exposition needed to help fill out Eliza’s background and push the plot along as Eliza embarks upon a mission to save the creature with whom she has developed a deep relationship… No Fantasy tale is complete without its “Evil”. In The Shape of Water, Michael Shannon is the embodiment of all that is wrong with the world and is “Evil” to the core. The trick to Shannon’s performance is his restraint. His badness is not entirely obvious, but it’s simmering away beneath the surface twenty-four hours a day. Shannon’s first dialogue scene with Hawkins and Spencer is an absolute cracker and highlights to the two ladies that he’s a personality type like nothing they’ve ever encountered. He’s an empowered psychopath and he revels in being able to assert his dominance over everyone else. To highlight just how mad and bad he is, Del Toro is able to make Michael Stuhlbarg’s American-Soviet Double Agent look Saintly by comparison!
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Make no mistake, The Shape of Water is a unique story from a filmmaker who is confident enough to rely upon his command of image as much as he is his command of language and sound. Del Toro’s greatest ally behind the scenes for this film is Danish Cinematographer Dan Laustsen. Teaming up for a second time (after 2015’s Crimson Peak), Laustsen uses both light and dark throughout the movie to assist Del Toro achieve his visual intent. In addition, Lausten has the added complexity of shooting through water and creating the unique atmosphere that relates the Amphibian Man’s existence to the viewer. It’s easy to see why The Shape of Water has been the subject of critical acclaim overseas and has featured heavily throughout the Awards Season nominations at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018. The Shape of Water is first-class cinema. For Guillermo Del Toro, a filmmaker who has built his reputation upon unique, beautifully-shot  movies, this latest offering sets a new personal standard for him as a storyteller, a curator of the fantastique and a supremely talented filmmaker whose fondness for genre works has somewhat blinded the mainstream to his talent. The Shape of Water is a terrific example of great movie-making by a genuine artist and goes a long way to delivering the Mexican hyphenate the acclaim he deserves from the movie-going public.

THE SHAPE OF WATER (2018) USEFUL LINKS

​The Shape of Water (2017) - IMDb
​The Shape of Water (film) - Wikipedia 
​The Shape of Water (2017) - Rotten Tomatoes

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