Respond to these rapid questions in our The Shape Of Water quiz and we will tell you which The Shape Of Water character you are. Play it now.
In the 1935 film by James Whale, “”The Bride of Frankenstein,” the monster (Boris Karloff) laments, “is a bad thing when you’re alone. Friend: that’s great!” That is the subject of Guillermo del Toro’s latest film, “The Shape of Water,” which is about the loneliness of those who were born before their time, or who were born differently. The story of “The Shape of Water” does not come together to form the fairy tale that is promised by the dreamy opening. It makes its points with a jackhammer, wielding symbols in bright neon to emphasize its points. Depending on your point of view, the atmosphere of swooning romanticism is either silly or moving. (I discovered that it was both.) The film begins in a swaying green underwater world, with a woman adrift in what appears to be a drowned Atlantis, as the credits roll. The visuals are otherworldly and magical, and Alexandre Desplat’s score is wistful and bittersweet, as is the film itself. What happened to the “princess without a voice” is recounted by Richard Jenkins, who narrates helplessly, asking, “If I spoke about it, what would I tell you?” about what happened to her.
“The princess without a voice” turns out to be the mute Elisa (Sally Hawkins), who mops floors in the cavernous underground tunnels of a Baltimore-based corporation (the word OCCAM—as in razor?—is emblazoned above the entrance in towering letters). In Elisa’s office is Zelda, played by Octavia Spencer, who provides constant running commentary throughout the day, responding to Elisa’s sign language with a deluge of words. The year is 1962, and the Cold War and the space race are the backdrop to the story. Strickland (Michael Shannon) is the company’s president, and he is a sadist racist who swaggers around with a cattle prod in his hand (which he calls an “Alabama howdee-do”). Whatever is done at the corporation is kept top secret, and everyone is paranoid about the Russians, especially after “The Asset” arrives in a portable tank and begins to question everything. The Asset is the Amphibian Man (Doug Jones), who was discovered in the Amazon and was once worshipped as a god. He is now kept in a tank, where he is subjected to intermittent torture by Strickland’s howdee-do. The creature’s advocate, the scientist Hoffstetler (Michael Stuhlbarg), pleads for mercy on his or her behalf. Instead of destroying the Amphibian Man, it should be studied.
Meanwhile, Elisa finds herself attracted to the “monster,” and she embarks on a covert campaign to win his trust. Hard-boiled eggs are on the table for him. She entertains him by playing Benny Goodman records. She instructs him in the use of sign language. The courtship sequence is the most successful sequence in the film, and it is reminiscent of the stunning first half of “The Black Stallion,” in which the shipwrecked boy attempts to tame the wild horse, or the early sequences of “E.T.,” in which the child and the alien begin to communicate with one another. There are numerous monster movie references throughout “Shape of Water,” including “King Kong,” “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” “Starman,” and—most notably—Jean Cocteau’s “Beauty and the Beast,” with one scene in particular serving as an explicit homage to the classic film.
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With multiple atmospherically rich worlds that are so real you can smell the dank rot in those basement corridors, production designer Paul D. Austerberry is having a field day. In Elisa’s apartment, everything is green, including the bathroom tiles and the water in the bathtub. The color green represents “the future,” as we are repeatedly told in a variety of contexts. Even more symbolically, her apartment is perched atop a massive movie theater, and she is surrounded by echoes of the fantasy world that exists below. “Mad Men” set in a suburban setting so yellowy-bright that it’s clear it’s not “the future,” but rather the delusional complacent past of Strickland and his family. It is a clammy wet mood created by cinematographer Dan Laustsen, with raindrops streaming through windows and swirling around them, shadows swaying on the walls, and the overall feeling of being submerged into the underwater world of The Asset. The film appears to be a dream come true.
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It is possible to be too cute with Elisa, and there are times when Hawkins crosses the line into self-consciously adorable spunkiness. When she looks at a pair of red shoes (i.e. ruby slippers) circling in a shop window with wide-eyed wonder, it’s clear that she’s poured a little too much on herself. One of the things that is refreshing about the character is her bravery and resourcefulness, as well as her quick and matter-of-fact approach to her sexual needs. In order to avoid falling behind schedule, she masturbates every morning after setting an egg timer. She looks at Amphibian Man, with his nictitating membrane, his 12-pack abs, and the Ken Doll mound between his legs, and she is overcome with desire for him. She confides in Giles, her gay next-door neighbor (Richard Jenkins, who gives the best performance of the film), who is tormented by unrequited love for a young guy who works at a diner and whom she confides in. Giles’ television is always set to an old movie channel, so he can enjoy watching Betty Grable, Alice Faye, Bojangles, and Shirley Temple tap dance up a stairway in a classic film like The Wizard of Oz.
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“The Shape of Water” repeatedly demonstrates the demonization of the “Other,” as well as the heartlessness of depriving living creatures of their dignity. As soon as the film turns its attention to the brutal treatment meted out to the monster, the “voicelessness” of Elisa, the lonely gay man before Stonewall, the film is on solid ground. They are all from “the future,” or from a time before their own. In contrast, when the film depicts contemporary real-life events (such as the African-American couple who are told they can’t sit at the counter, Strickland’s racist comments to Zelda, and news footage of actual civil rights marchers being attacked with fire hoses), the fragile fabric of the film is torn apart. Even though the moments in question are consistent with the overall theme, there’s something unsettling about referring to them as “atmosphere.” At its worst, the use of real-life events feels like a slap on the wrist, a too-obvious pointing out of the parallels between the real world and the fairy tale just in case we didn’t get it the first time around.
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In order to save the Monster, Elisa, Giles, and Zelda must band together, and the film abruptly shifts away from the single-minded energy of the dreamlike courtship sequence. The second half of the film is noticeably weaker than the first half, which is choppy and episodic in nature and drawn out. The film appears to be much longer than it actually is. There are elements that work beautifully and elements that don’t work at all in this composition.
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A good artist isn’t necessarily concerned with pleasing the audience when creating a piece of work. A good artist strives to please himself or herself. It is possible for the two things to come together, as they do in the best of del Toro’s films. His is a mind that is enthusiastic and passionate. When an artist devotes himself or herself to what he or she enjoys, whether it’s Leonardo da Vinci, The Troggs, John Cassavetes, Chantal Akerman, or whoever, it’s contagious, and audiences pick up on it. In an industry dominated by corporate-run franchises, del Toro’s films are a welcome breath of fresh air. All of this is true in the case of “The Shape of Water,” but there is something wrong with it.
For more personality quizzes check this: Sicario Day Of The Soldado Quiz.
