This Year's Big Winner

Rating: 10/10 (31 March 2018)

Oscar Nominations:

So what is 'The Shape of Water'? I suppose that question might have two different meanings, so lets start with the simplest question 'how do you describe the form that real, liquid, water takes? Seems like an easy question until you try to answer it. 'Like a liquid', doesn't really cut it, and something like 'a blob, or pool, of liquid' ends up being circular. Ultimately, to answer that question, one has to end up saying something like 'it takes the form of whatever container it is in'. And that may be about as good an answer as it gets.
Interestingly, the answer seems to work in response to the same question about the movie 'The Shape of Water' - it will likely take on the form that each viewer wants to see in it. The movie has a moving, shifting, and yes, fluid, nature to it that defies easy categories. If, like me, you find it convenient to peg movies with genre labels to help understand what emotions and thoughts it will likely inspire, the exercise with this movie will be a little frustrating.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), puts it in boxes labeled Adventure, Drama, and Fantasy. And I suppose it has elements of those. There is a plot-line involving Russian spies, and a scheme to steal an important 'asset'. And the 'asset' in question isn't exactly human, at least from outward appearances and so represents a fantastical creature of the imagination. Certainly, some of its deepest moments reflect heartfelt emotion tinged with tragedy.
But the movie could just as easily be called a work of science fiction, because of its setting (a 1960s research lab) and similarities to other science fiction classics (like Creature from the Black Lagoon). There are moments that provoke laughter as you see buffoonish characters, bumbling their way through a scenario that almost evokes scenes from the Three Stooges, or the Carol Burnett show. At times it could certainly be considered a 'thriller'. And, as the trailers convey, it is also a romance, even with requisite, and non-gratuitous, sex scenes.
In short, this movie defies description and that is, I think, part of its intriguing charm. This movie, like water, takes the shape of the container that you put it in. The fact that it succeeds so well, regardless of how you look at it, is a testament to the high quality of the film. It meets or exceeds expectations.
And the expectations were high. The Shape of Water was the Oscar darling this year, receiving the most nominations (13), and winning the most awards (4), including Best Picture of the year. It received nominations above and below-the-line, reflecting the fact that it was a balanced movie with quality attention lavished in nearly all aspects of the movie craft.
The Shape of Water is the brain-child of Guillermo del Toro, who wrote, directed, and produced the movie. He was nominated for the original screenplay and won the Oscar for directing it. This is not his first trip into Oscar-country - he was nominated in 2006 for both writing and directing Pan's Labyrinth, a movie that shares a lot of traits with this one, including a fantastical creature, and relationships that can only be characterized as surreal. The earlier movie might be considered practice for this one, which achieves a level of surrealism that seems even more plausible. Del Toro has displayed his science fiction and fantasy roots in writing and directing the Hellboy series and the first two Pacific Rim movies (not counting the most recent one, released earlier this year.). And he showed how easily he can coax human sentiments out of non-human characters in his fabulous Hobbit movies. In a real sense, Shape of Water might be considered as the highest expression of his art form.
The vision of the writer and director is important, but without great actors, the message doesn't get delivered. Casting Sally Hawkins in the leading role, as a mute and very sensitive janitor, Elisa Esposito, was a stroke of genius. She was nominated for leading actress - but lost to Frances McDormand in Three Billboards - and was previously nominated for her supporting role in Blue Jasmine (with Cate Blanchett). Although she normally plays supporting roles, her facial expressions and body movements, in this movie, convey her strong acting abilities even though she has no real dialogue throughout the entire film.
As noted before, with the Three Billboards movie, it helps when the entire acting ensemble is of high quality since the acting gets reinforced as each actor plays off the others. Hawkins is lucky to work with several exceptional supporting actors, two of them also receiving Oscar nominations. Richard Jenkins, who plays her next door neighbor, Giles, and the sympathetic narrator of the movie, received a leading actor nomination for the Visitor several years ago. And Octavia Spencer, was previously nominated for her supporting role in Hidden Figures, and won the Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in The Help, plays Elisa's co-worker at the research laboratory. She is a perfect verbal counterweight for Elisa's silent machinations.
Not nominated, but playing critically important roles, are Michael Shannon as the government- spy-bureaucrat-villain, and Doug Jones, who plays the all important creature (and also never speaks!). The combination of these actors creates a fluid ensemble that flows together perfectly.
A great movie, though, isn't just above-the-line. del Toro was able to bring together a team of craftspeople of exceptional talent. The movie won nominations for cinematography, film editing, costumes, and production design, winning the Oscar in the last category. The design does a terrific job of evoking a 1960s science fiction setting, in combination with a feel from an early James Bond movie (think Thunderball). The camera work makes use of lots of contrasting lights and darks with light sources reflected off of metal surfaces. And the creature's costume is a perfect job of suggesting creepiness and beauty at the same time, part of successfully suggesting multiple emotions. (Apparently it took Doug Jones three hours to get into costume every day!).
Shape of Water also received nominations for sound editing, sound mixing, and original score. Because so much of the movie revolves in and around water, there were special challenges in rendering sounds that reflected that environment. And although I hate to say it, the music from Alexander Desplat is so 'liquid' in nature that he certainly evokes the spirit of the movie, and deserves the Oscar for original score - his second Oscar and ninth nomination.
The Shape of Water is a very big movie in a tight, compact package. Although I haven't seen all of the Best Picture nominated movies yet, this one clearly deserves the Oscar so far. It will puzzle you, confound you, and astound you, all at the same time. It takes the shape of whatever container you want to put it in, and leaves you better off than you were before.