A classic story with olden-days villains that draws parallels with today's troubles

Rating: 8/10 (1 August 2018)

A mute cleaner in a secret US government Cold War bunker falls in love with a captured sea creature and works with her outcast friends to help him escape.
There's only one to describe The Shape of Water - it's part love story, part fantasy tale, part spy drama and part heist movie. It's also an artsy film with plenty of little details for those who like to look for subtext ... The idea for the film came when director Guillermo del Toro was asked to write a film based on the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but opted for a story where the creature and the woman he kidnaps fall in love. The studio refused the idea and so it lay dormant, until now - bet they wish they went with it now!
At the start, you hate Michael Shannon's Strickland because you're not given a choice; he's sexist, racist and doesn't wash his hands after using the bathroom. By the end, you still hate him because he hasn't changed. And that might be the film's biggest failing, the 'villain' is given nothing to do besides be the guy who interrogates the creature and berates the main characters as he investigates its disappearance. Shannon is a great (but still grossly underrated) actor so it's a shame that he wasn't given more reign to develop a more interesting character.
In short, it's a simple tale told complexly - some will find this an annoying trope of a director who looks for the unusual in all his work, while others will appreciate the multiple levels of subtext in every frame and every line of dialogue.
Best Quote: "He doesn't know what I lack, or how I am incomplete. He's happy to see me, every time, every day. Now, I can save him ... or let him die."