A process of conversion

Rating: 8/10 (10 May 2018)

On the face of it, The Shape of Water is a romantic fairy tale for adults, full of many elements, including love, violence, power struggle, and mystery, but that's not the whole story - It is not just a love story. Since we all know that majority of love stories are not amenable, there must be something special in the movie that convinces eligible voters of the Academy to vote for.
Elisa, Giles, and Zelda represent the disabled, homosexual and the black, all of whom are marginalized by the mainstream. Sure enough, they are forced to be muted, just like Elisa, compared to the colonel whose two fingers are broken off. Except for these three, here comes a more marginalized one, Amphibian Man.
I believe every audience doesn't like Amphibian Man at the very beginning, even feel disgusting on seeing the picture of it. However, during the course of watching this movie, you may gradually recognize it, getting more and more positive impression from the interaction between Elisa and the Amphibian Man. It is kind of a process of conversion. I find it beautiful.