It is a good film, but it basically never reaches greatness

Rating: 6/10 (22 March 2018)

"The Shape of Water" is a new American movie that is mostly in the English language, but also includes a great deal of sign language due to the protagonist's muteness and also minor parts in Russian and even French. These 2 hours are the Best Picture Academy Award winner this year, which was not necessarily a surprise on Oscar night, but may have been if we take a look at its awards recognition on other occasions. It is basically only the PGA that was a strong indicator here as the film lost out at the BAFTAs and Golden Globes and was not even nominated for Best Ensemble at the SAGs. But the Oscars loved it for sure looking at the 3 acting nominations as well as the screenplay nod, even if it never had a chance in any of these 4 categories, but still it took home 3 more Oscars including a Best Director win for Guillermo del Toro, who never was really in doubt, and who joins Cuaron and Gonzalez Inarritu in what is a great decade for Mexican filmmakers at the Oscars, not just a great night for Mexico in general at the Oscars this year. Finally, in terms of the acting nominations: I am happy for Hawkins as she is really good and also she has a very unusual kind of physical attractiveness. Not sure if she is better than in her painter movie this year, but she is excellent in both. As for Richard Jenkins, I quite like him and even if his turn here maybe profited more from his character being so likable than from a truly great performance, it's nice to see him get in a second time. Spencer was okay, but not awards-worthy and it's baffling to me what the Academy keeps seeing in her. It's a bit sad to see that Michael Shannon (quite liked the way they categorized him as the monster and not the creature from the water) never really had a shot at a nomination as he may be giving the exact opposite to Jenkins here, perhaps the best villain portrayal of 2017 and his character feels a bit similar at times to the one he portrayed on Boardwalk Empire, at least during the early seasons. In general you can say here that the characters do not really have shades apart from Stuhlbarg's perhaps, if at all, but that it does not hurt the movie as a whole in my opinion.
Now away from the awards, this was a good watch, but best of the year I cannot agree. The characters are all interesting to follow and you easily wonder what happens next to them, but there are weaknesses and actually not just one or two. The depiction of violence is not a problem at all, but rather helps the film, but from the romantic perspective, the film was a disappointment to me. The way the two get closer was not depicted too realistically I must say. It felt pretty rushed and as a consequence, everything else about the love story element apart from the slightly awkward sexual references feels not too convincing. Another problem I had was with the protagonist's singing moment, when we finally hear her speak and even portray a number. This was clearly intended as one of the most touching and memorable moments, but this also did nothing for me because the character of Elisa is defined through her muteness, but never in a negative way or anything. It is what makes her and so the moment she loses her defining trait is one that had more of a negative touch to it for me because there is never the feeling that she is actually unhappy the way she is. And what is him eating a cat in one scene, then cuddling another in the next and they just let him near it. Sure they don't want him to feel like a caged animal again, but still. The reference with the scars at the neck turning into gills is fine, I actually thought of gills early on. The ending story-wise and visually is fine too and it makes a strong connection to the (somewhat) happy ending, even if the poem did very little for me. Maybe it is better in the English version as I watched the German dub. Another interesting aspect here is the use of water (and fluids) on so many occasions that makes the slightly sub-par title a bit better I guess. As for the creature itself, it is another example of Del Toro delivering in terms of fantastic creatures. The looks are really spectacular for this film and it is in general maybe where it is best. Close to flawless from the directing perspective, but sadly many flaws with the script that is also by Del Toro, at least as a co-writer. I think it is a bit ironic that this may be the man's career-defining work eventually, at least at this point as a Best Picture winner because I think he has not only done better in his career in general, but especially in the fantasy genre. It is one of the weaker Best Picture winners in recent years I'd say, but still a solid watch. Not too surprised the Academy liked it with its historic references, political references, grown-up moments in terms of violence and sexuality, statements on homosexuality and discrimination against Blacks and generally its message in support of underdogs regardless if we are talking about the creature (the shape of water?) or Hawkins' character. So I see why it won over the in my opinion superior Get Out and Three Billboards. Nonetheless, of course I recommend checking out "The Shape of Water" as this was a very entertaining over 120 minutes, especially with Shannon's character going full rogue towards the end, even if it is not the high-quality love story I wanted it to be. Thumbs up.