Guillermo Del Toro did it again, and this time in a way that speaks not only to his fans, but everyone

Rating: 8/10 (15 February 2018)

At a top secret research facility in the Cold War era America of 1960s, a lowly janitor (Sally Hawkins) forms a friendship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
Also playing, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Stevens, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones, Nick Searcy et al.
Fairy tales are for children, right? Well, no. An adult life is so intricately intervowen with them that it gets difficult to say where the fairy tales end and "reality" begins.
I am not only talking about mass media, advertisement and promoting industry or such. Seemingly everybody has their own version of How Life Is and How It Should Be in their head which they try to distribute as far and wide as they think they can get away with.
Considering that fairy tales are everywhere, it is only suitable that one of this Oscar season's biggest and best reviewed movies, "The Shape of Water", is a fairy tale too. Movie industry has always been about selling us dreams, and this golden figure is its highest and most prestigious accolade.
It's rated R for sex, profanities and violence, and has quite a surprising amount of each, but aside from that, it would not go "over the head" of some younger viewers too. Because above all, it's a simple story well told, and for its delicious visual style, understandable and easily digestible for widest possible audience.
Not that I suggest this kind of sex and violence to children - but on the other hand, what exactly here would be new and shocking to them?
Given how delicious and majestic it all looks, it comes as a slight disappointment that the story is so straightworward.
The main author, co-writer and director Guillermo Del Toro, is playing with some powerful symbols - water, the sea, amphibian creatures, oppressing regime - but as usual, he's satisfied with how everything looks and fits together, not interested to guide us somewhere deep. He's always been a visual kind of storyteller, so here he delivers in spades.
Even the first scene depicting sunken apartment looks nothing short of breathtaking and makes one want to see him directing a possible "BioShock" movie (a loved videogame which begs to be translated on cinema screen). How "Water" looks would be such a great blueprint for it. Every frame looks like a painting, or something.
The only thing I really found lacking is the awful pronounciation of Russian language on screen. Given how many instructors and teachers work for movie industry to make things on screen look and seem more authentic, it's horrible to see some things still stay the same.
Or wouldn't the general audiences "buy" the Russian language which sounds like the real thing, just like Nigerian prince type of scam letters are supposed to be written in horrible English?
But it's not just all about pretty pictures. Luckily for us, whatever depth the story may lack, has been compensated with emotion encapsulated by the performances.
I see no need to talk about these in length, because every major player is doing his/her usual - Hawkins is quirky and lovable as always, Jenkins endearing and a bit eccentric as always, Shannon intense and towering tour de fource as always. You can be sure that they deliver. Which is great considering that many of the scenes were filmed in front of empty green screen, with digital objects added later.
But the amphibian creature motion capture acted by Doug Jones is the real star here - such an attention-grabbing mix of human and alien attributes, all these little sounds he makes and all. The movie would be poorer if the centre of the show was not as successfully realized as it is. I loved him!
In conclusion, it's a quite captivating fairy tale for adults, filled with dark themes as the fairy tales have always been. "The Shape of Water" celebrates all that we have always loved in mainstream cinema - emotion, visual artistry, mix of old-fashioned and modern - and as such is a perfect frontrunner for Oscar season indeed.
By the way, it's quite rare for a movie to get nominated for 13 Oscars as "The Shape of Water" did. It has only happened nine times before (there are also three movies that were nominated for 14).
I have a gut feeling that "Water" will get its awards mostly in "technical" categories such as best director, sound editing, sound mixing, production design, and cinematography - as opposed to best movie, original screenplay, or acting categories.
And this would be OK, because this year's nominations are a tough bunch indeed, and I'd be sad to see "Ebbing" lose for example.