Good arthouse fun, but not all that great of a film

Rating: 7/10 (12 June 2018)

This is very much an arthouse film. For you young guns out there, all I mean by that is that this movie will be appreciated more by cinephiles. It has enough plot structure to be enjoyed above the surface, but it's really looking for the focused to dive into the deep end to find the subtleties and metaphors about. I don't find this to be a masterpiece of storytelling, but let's simply look at its elements by themselves.
The story builds up Sally Hawkins' deaf character's mundane routine as a janitor at a research facility for about the first 20 minutes. Although del Toro's directing is at its most prominent, it also could've been shortened down a bit-especially when you consider the story that still has to be told. Also, to backtrack a bit, the very opening sequence is absolutely phenomenal-but anyways. Soon, a mysterious creature led by the always-evil Michael Shannon is transported to the facility for some testing. While everyone views it as a monster that has to be taken care of in some way or another, Hawkins starts to see the other side to the amphibious creature. I don't think they ever specify what it is, but for all intents and purposes, let's call it a merman. To avoid spoilers the plot follows this thread for a little over halfway, then it switches over to a different type of plot to finish the film out. Basically, it switches the main objectives of what needs to be done, and with the time it takes to properly develop each of these story elements, some of the added stuff I feel should've been cut down more: namely, the opening montage and actually getting to the reveal of the creature, and eating some lovely nasty pie at the shop (but I'm sure Richard Jenkins needed the boosted screen time to put him contention for a best supporting actor nod).
Speaking of Jenkins, the characters are mostly good. Jenkins fills his role admirably, Hawkins is obviously amazing, Shannon is just playing the role he always plays, and Octavia Spencer turns in a great supporting role as Hawkins' janitor friend. But with the exception of Hawkins, everyone is still second fiddle so that the merman can shine. The characters are all interesting and all developed, but they fill the necessary gap and not too much more. And in the hands of Pan's Labyrinth (and Pacific Rim, but that doesn't help the guy here) del Toro (who also wrote), the fantastical mythicalness of the merman shines through. It's really quite a spectacle that fits perfectly within his realm
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