"The Shape of Water" Review
Oh my God, have Guillermo del Toro movies always been this great?
This movie breathes del Toro's passion for storytelling. There's no one on Earth who loves his movies more than he does so there were times that the movie did try too hard to explain the reasoning behind a character's actions or the deeper subtexts that really didn't need to be explained. But at least they were delivered with much charisma and excitement through actors like Sally Hawkins (whom I've loved watching since Happy-Go-Lucky and is her most captivating role yet), Octavia Spencer (I wish they used more of her to be honest), Michael Shannon (whom I thought was a bit of an obvious pick for an antagonist but was so fucking great and despicable), and Doug Jones, whom you might recognize from other del Toro movies as the guy who plays a lot of the non-human roles.
The story is about a mute woman and a weird amphibian creature getting it on. It gets a bit weird during those parts but it's portrayed very elegantly so it's hard for me not love seeing them be with each other. The cinematography and mystical lighting compliments Alexandre Desplat's romantic score. I appreciate that the film chose to focus on a bunch of misfits rather than the typical Hollywood straight white man out to save the day. Good job, movie! A plus!