I knew I would find THE SHAPE OF WATER interesting. I knew it would be visually arresting. I didn't expect it to pack such an emotional punch!
The story is the same old thing - girl meets fish/man, girl falls in love with fish/man, girls joins forces with Communist spy to rescue fish/man, girl floods bathroom to have standing up sex with fish/man... You know the drill.
The film has an interesting cast - it features three of my all time favorite male character actors and two highly regarded female actors that I tend to underestimate - and they all brought it HARD!
First off is Sally Hawkins. I had only previously seen her in HAPPY-GO-LUCKY which I thought was great, although I found her a little irritating. My expectations were meh. But without a word -except for one glorious fantasy sequence - she gradually lets you into the incredibly rich inner life of Elisa Esposito - a mute cleaning lady at a government facility. I'm sorry I doubted you, Sally.
The other apology goes to Octavia Spencer. The camera loves this woman. In every movie in which I have seen her, she has been a no nonsense, truth telling presence and I kind of considered that her schtick. Here, there is more of the same - but the fact that she does this often doesn't mean that she doesn't do it perfectly. Her running monologue when she and the Hawkins character go about their daily cleaning tasks is truthful and illuminating. She doesn't talk to hear the sound of her own voice. She is clearly having a conversation, despite the fact that her partner is non-verbal.
Michael Stuhlbarg is always interesting. Okay, I've only seen him in MEN IN BLACK 3 and A SERIOUS MAN, but he was hella interesting in both. Here he speaks two languages and communicates awkwardly in both. His character charmed me for most of the movie and disappointed me at the end, but Stuhlbarg was a master throughout.
Michael Shannon's style of communication is just the worst. I am seriously conflicted about Michael Shannon. He creeped me out the minute he appeared on screen in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and cemented his stuff-of-nightmares-ness in BOARDWALK EMPIRE. He didn't do me any favors in this film either. His style of communication is offensive in its brusqueness. His casual racism, his self-aggrandizement and his bathroom habits are just gross. And yet, he is fantastic. I would have thought that the girl-on-fish/man action late in the movie would have been the most uncomfortable sex scene I would see that day, but honestly - it was delicately done and beautiful. Shannon and his wife have missionary-style suburban daytime sex and it is just icky. Who'd have thunk?
Richard Jenkins never disappoints. He plays a closeted, musical-loving sixty-ish gentleman who communicates beautifully with Elisa but awkwardly with everyone else. He is a painter who has had drinking issues and a lot of cats. He is also a man of integrity who can be counted on to do the right thing as much as he can. His timid vanity and his stalwart heart are just spectacular.
This is a strange, beautiful movie that has a lot of layers. Go see it.
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