The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro

Rating: 7/10 (9 March 2018)

I've never seen a movie directed or written by Guillermo del Toro, and my first experience with his work was a mixed one. The Shape of Water is an undoubtedly creative work, and features many unique aspects rarely seen or fleshed out in others of this caliber. While this is true, it only manages to shine a strong torch in some categories and not others. Where The Shape of Water succeeds in design, acting and soundtrack, it falls short in plot, pacing and ham-fisted themes. Without a doubt, it holds itself as a spectacle, but internally the movie struggles to keep itself together on all fronts.
The first and most important concept I want to touch on is how a film is designed to be ingested, on a scale of seriousness. There are films that are very clearly designed to be taken in a serious tone, like Blade Runner 2049. These films immediately establish themselves with serious themes and concepts and consistently expect themselves to be treated as such throughout. Then there are films like Death of Stalin. These films establish a comedic and lighthearted tone within the first 15 minutes at the most, and generally maintain it throughout and apply the tone to even the darker elements of the story. A consistent level of seriousness is, in my opinion, key for a great movie.
This is where The Shape of Water really led me astray. The film quite often jumps between comedic and grave undertones and rarely seeks to create a harmony between them. It was only by the end of the film that I finally concluded that the film was best experienced when it wasn't taken seriously. While this didn't seriously improve or detract from certain scenes in the film, it certainly made a difference on my overall enjoyment. The movie has a short and creative musical number, roughly two thirds into the film. This was the first time I realized that this film is far more lighthearted than dramatic, yet throughout the film it still presses rather grave themes.
On a more positive note, the overall design in The Shape of Water was amazing. With a purported budget of 20 million, it really seems to stretch every dollar. Environments and (very obviously) characters are given great care and attention throughout the whole film, and the cinematography never falls short. The actual creature itself, which I don't think is named, is superbly created. A great combination of majority practical effects and some CGI blend perfectly into a seamless and believable supernatural being. The locations were well picked and the color palette of the film remains consistent without. I have not a bad word for the visual makeup of this film.
What I feel very mixed on is the overall pacing of The Shape of Water. Firstly, I would like to praise the films use of its run-time. The film perfectly understands it's own genre, and doesn't waste time building suspense for the reveal of the amphibian beyond the first 20 minutes of the film. Throughout the film, there is little deviation from the topic, but yet the pacing still troubled me. Without spoiling story content, I felt that at times it moved too fast and at others took it's time far longer than necessary. I also felt that there were scenes, especially one sex scene (not the infamous one) that were seemingly unnecessary. Overall I believe the film would have benefited from a less expansive story, one that left international politics and irrelevant intrigue alone in favor of something more procedural and slower paced. Which leads me to the story.
The story of The Shape of Water is largely baseless. I found it entertaining, and the plot never stalled, but there were just too many significant plot points and strange character choices that betrayed the overall narrative. Themes were largely left half done/explored beyond the one central one, and what could have been seriously fascinating minor and major characters were left at the mercy of lazy plot advancement. Some elements simply would have benefited the film if they were removed entirely. There is little more I can touch on without story spoilers.The Shape of Water's acting is one of it's stronger suits, however. Sally Hawkins and Doug Jones both deliver a great performance but it was Michael Shannon, one of my favorite actors, who manages to put on the best of all despite being held back by poor characterization. None of the supporting cast pulls down the movie, and there were yet still many stand outs. I personally really enjoyed all the scenes Octavia Spencer was in as well.
In summary, my enjoyment of this film very much traveled up and down throughout it's duration, but raised itself significantly once I properly figured out the tone it was awkwardly trying to set. The good and bad of this film actually remarkably balances itself out and still keeps it as a very enjoyable experience overall, but nothing I would write home about. Outstanding design and acting kept me going, but couldn't recover the damage made by critical plot and pacing flaws. I'd be content giving it a 7/10.