Good, albeit flawed

Rating: 6/10 (6 December 2019)

THE SHAPE OF WATER is, of course, Guillermo del Toro's latest opus and the first of his oeuvre to receive Oscars. I'm a long-time fan of the director, ever since I saw CRONOS back on television decades ago, so I was eager to check out a film which is quite clearly the director's homage to THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. The end result is engaging and well made, as well directed as you'd expect from del Toro, but not without some serious flaws.
Sally Hawkins gives a thorough performance as the mute lead although her thunder is stolen by more striking turns from the likes of Michael Shannon (the most interesting he's been since BOARDWALK EMPIRE) and, of course, the great Doug Jones, who inevitably steals all his scenes. The first hour of set-up is intriguing and interesting alike, but I found that the pacing really stalled as soon as the creature relocates to the bathtub. At that point, del Toro seems to deliberately stall things, in no hurry to get to the rushed climax, so it all becomes drawn out and embarrassingly romantic. The black-and-white musical interlude is the low point here, an overly indulgent scene that had me cringing. It's a pity, as this makes the film fall below the likes of the HELLBOY films or del Toro's excellent Spanish-language movies.