Best Picture was generous... but it's a decent film nonetheless

Rating: 7/10 (15 August 2018)

Guillermo del Toro leads us on a beautifully compelling, and oddly romantic story about a woman and a fish who fall in love.
The film opens underwater, and although the later scenes do not, the set design and lighting makes us feel like we never really surface. deep Blues and swampy greens paint the film, everything I remember is shaded with these colours, it is a director which such a fine control over colour palettes I think Wes Anderson will probably feel a little outdone.
Then we meet Elisa, we follow her through her morning routine, she likes eggs, is sexually frustrated, and she can't speak, she's a mute. Sally Hawkins teases life into Elisa, she could easily have played her as straight up quiet, introverted and shy, but there's so much more to her. In one scene she signs "F*** You" to Michael Shannon's character, for no other reason than her own enjoyment, she gives a smug little grin after doing it too. I like to imagine Sally Hawkins receiving a script from Guillermo del Toro thinking "brilliant, finally my chance to win an Oscar", only to open up the screenplay and realise all her lines are effectively facial expressions. She does brilliantly regardless.
The film is well paced, but the blossoming romance between Elisa and Cpt Fish Finger is put rather dumbly into a montage. We don't spend enough real time with the pair as they begin to fall in love. For example by the film's half way point, Elisa is planning to break Fish Cake out of the research facility, effectively risking her life for him, but all we've seen up to this point is them eating eggs together and him watching her dance with some weird French music playing over the top. I saw no real motive for her to risk her life at this point. I wanted to see real scenes between the two of them; how do you fall in love with a frog looking guy you can't really talk to? I guess even Del Toro was unsure on that one, he skipped over the answer.
The film's most redeeming quality is in it's character's. Richard Jenkins' character stood out, he is quirky and oddly magnetic, I wanted to see more of him. He got nominated for Best Supporting Actor because Sally Hawkins relied on his humour and daintiness to paint and strengthen her character. Michael Shannon as well plays a baddie straight out of the Del Toro's school of baddies, he's always sucking hard boiled sweets, his fingers bleed and get progressively darker as his character does. No character is alike. Everyone is brought to life brilliantly by the actor playing them. Octavia Spencer plays every role she ever has played, mouthy, sassy black woman - but she plays it well I wont protest.
Allow yourself to fall into the trance Del Toro has created. Don't resist. It's odd and quirky and if you spend your time questioning that, the film will pass over you.