Very unique and quite good

Rating: 7/10 (10 February 2018)

Baltimore, 1962: In the midst of the Cold War, Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) is a young mute woman who works as a janitor in a government laboratory. At her workplace, she becomes intrigued and fascinated by a recently captured man-like sea creature that is confined in a water tank.
This film is courageous in its combining a historical era with fantasy science-fiction. It is occasionally far-fetched (during that paranoid time/place, it's hard to believe Elisa would have such easy, unsupervised access to the lab with the sea-creature) but it is mostly believable within its bizarre, unusual universe.
While it may not live fully up to the awards-hype it is getting, it is still praiseworthy in many ways. Director Guillermo del Toro works with a great team to draw the viewer into his fascinating world especially in two thrilling scenes - one of which is the finale. The cinematography (by Dan Laustsen), the music (by Alexandre Desplat), and the set design team work superbly to recreate a long-ago era through a unique lens. And the cast is equally amazing.
Though Hawkins' performance has many similarities to her recent work in "Maudie", she succeeds greatly in the current film to show passion and determination despite her limits in being able to communicate verbally. The other characters and their respective performers are more than noteworthy: Richard Jenkins as Elisa's neighbour - an underemployed homosexual who has trouble with aging and finding work as an illustrator (his personal story could have been even more elaborated); Michael Shannon as a high-ranking official in Elisa's workplace - he's even more monstrous than the sea creature he regards with indifferent contempt; Michael Stuhlbarg as a scientist whose own story provides plot twists; and Octavia Spencer as Elisa's sharp-talking co-worker and loyal friend.
One thing is for certain: "The Shape of Water" is in a category of its own. - dbamateurcritic