Nopity Nope Nope

Rating: 2/10 (29 January 2018)

I like a moody, meaningful film just as much as the next person, but this is a big ol' NOPE from me. I gave it two stars only because it had Octavia Spencer in it and I would probably pay to watch her read the dictionary onscreen.
Eliza is a mute cleaning lady who works in a government lab, along with Zelda (Octavia Spencer). Eliza is entranced by an Amphibian Man who is being kept at the lab. She builds a relationship with him and feels a kinship due to both of them being unable to speak. Eventually she breaks him out and keeps him in her bathtub, where they take their relationship to the next level. I can't tell you what happens at the end because I walked out. That's right. For only the second time in my more-than-a-century lifetime, I walked out of a movie I paid to see.
There was a lot of water symbolism that felt like the director hammering it in with a sledgehammer. Look - water! Look here - more water!! I did enjoy Eliza's relationship with her neighbor, which seemed much like a father-daughter or brother-sister connection.
The whole reason I chose this movie in the first place was due to the praise heaped on it by reviewers and the awards for which is has been nominated. As I have sadly learned, Hollywood cannot be trusted to know which movies are worth seeing.