Romantic Dark Fantasy

Rating: 9/10 (14 January 2018)

In Baltimore, in the early 60´s, the lonely and mute Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) is the janitor of a secret government laboratory where she works in the night-shift with her friend Zelda Fuller (Octavia Spencer). She lives in an old apartment above a movie-theater and she usually watches television with her other friend, her next-door neighbor Giles (Richard Jenkins), who is a gay artist. When a creature captured in a South-American river and brought to the laboratory, Elisa feels curiosity and learns that he is an Amphibian Man (Doug Jones). She secretly feds him every night with egg and listens to music in his room, and they become close to each other. However the security agent Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon) is bitten by the creature and loses two fingers. He meets General Hoyt (Nick Searcy) and convinces him to eliminate the creature. When Elisa discovers, she decides to rescue the Amphibian Man and release him in the sea. The scientist Dr. Robert Hoffstetler (Michael Stuhlbarg), who is a Russian agent, decides to help her.
"The Shape of Water" is a romantic dark fantasy film by Guillermo del Toro with a beautiful and bizarre love story. Elisa is a sort of the Beauty and the Amphibious Man would be the Beast in this mature film. The cinematography is amazing in an environment of the early 60´s in Baltimore. The performances are top-notch and the soundtrack is top-notch. "The Shape of Water" was awarded with the Golden Lion in the Venice Festival and many awards in the Golden Globe. It was also considered one of the top ten movies of 2017 by the American Film Institute. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil): "A Forma da Água" ("The Shape of the Water")