E.T. Meets Splash

Rating: 8/10 (25 January 2018)

"The Shape of Water" in short: A mute woman has an unusual relationship with a strange creature captured in South America by the U.S. government.
It's the height of the cold war, circa 1950's, and tensions between communist U.S.S.R. and the U.S. are nearly equal to that of the competition between the two in the Space Race. Elisa and Zelda are janitors working the overnight shift at a top-secret government facility housing an amphibious creature that may give the U.S. a distinct advantage over the Soviets. Elisa, who is mute and communicates through sign language, forms an instant bond with the creature, who has an affinity, it seems, for hard boiled eggs. Zelda is Elisa's good friend, co-worker, and translator. The creature, however, needs no translator. It's an intelligent being.
Elisa spends her lunch hour in the lab communicating with the creature through sign. Witnessing these interactions is a scientist, Dr. Hoffstetler, charged with the creature's care. The man overseeing the entire secret government discovery is the creepy Richard Strickland, who reports to Five-Star General Hoyt. Strickland tries to convince his superior to mark the useless creature for death and dissection, a plan that doesn't sit well with Elisa and Hoffstetler. Hoyt has the power to make anyone disappear if he so chooses, a point that worries Strickland and influences his decisions later when all hell breaks loose.
Think of this movie as a cross between an R-rated ET (1982) meets an R-rated Splash (1984).
Two things you'll LIKE about "The Shape of Water": 1) It's hard to choose just two. The 13-Oscar nominations are well deserved. Everything flows nicely. Well-acted, designed, edited, directed, scripted, the list goes on. 2) Character actor Richard Jenkins (who is Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actor) plays Giles, a former alcoholic, current homosexual, down-on-his-luck advertising-agency-artist (whew) and is Elisa's friend and neighbor. He's awesome in this role and has one of the best line's in the movie (I won't spoil it).
Two things you'll DISLIKE: 1) If you're not a fan of Guillermo del Toro's unique style of film making, you will not like this movie. I am neither a fan nor a hater, but I still enjoyed the movie either way. 2) The subject matter. It's, uhm, odd (keep an open mind).