"At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a mute cleaning lady forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity. Their journey becomes harder when the creature's survival and fate is threatened by a hostile government agent who sees it only as a dangerous creature with no compassion."
Title: Shape of Water
Year: 2018
Directed By: Guillermo Del Toro
Written By: Guillermo Del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
Duration: 2 hours 3 minutes
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Drama, Sci-fi
Starring: Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Doug Jones
Language: English, American Sign Language
Score: 9.5/10
And the Oscar goes to: Shape of Water! To be honest, I was very excited and proud of their win. Guillermo Del Toro is a genius when it comes to movies and he deserves it completely. Apart from being famous as the "fish banging movie" (from Honest Trailer), this movie actually offers a lot more than that. You'll witness love, drama, action, cruelty, and so much more.
WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT ?
1. THE STORY
Most Oscar-nominated drama movie tend to have slow pace and long duration. Shape of water has a long duration but a different pace of story. It's not your typical Oscar nominee because for me, it's more like a mainstream movie that is just amazing that it got an Oscar. It's a very interesting angle for a movie about a monster / mysterious creature. You can just make it into another mainstream action movie but Del Toro chose to make a love story out of it. And it's not teenage love story but the one that showed you that love has no boundaries and that love makes you willing to do things beyond your limit just to protect your loved ones. Del Toro put their struggle as well as their loving time in the right places so you can appreciate it even more. In the end, after everything that they've been through, you'll see how beautiful their story is.
2. THE CHARACTERS AND THE ACTORS WHO PLAY THEM
The creature / monster in the poster is already interesting enough to make you want to watch the movie, but after you watch it, the other characters are just as good. Eliza, the mute cleaning lady, was a character that represents a calm and sweet girl who is actually brave in the inside. She doesn't talk at all but you can pity for her, feel for her, be happy for her, and want to know more about her journey. Sally Hawkins did a very good job potraying her. This kind of character is something that suits Hawkins very much and she nailed it. From the way she did the American Sign Language, it's like we don't ever need words anymore to show how we feel. Every expression is well-shown even when she doesn't talk. Well-deserved nomination, Ms.Hawkins!
The villain, Richard Strickland, was wonderfully potrayed by Michael Shannon. He's always been one of my favorite actors when it comes to villains. He just knows how to show the evilness and cruelty of the characters without making it look too fake, too much, or too lame. Of course, it's all possible because Del Toro wrote this villain as a realisticly evil person to hate. You get to see every side of him in every situation so it's like knowing the bad guy so you know who you're hating and why you hate him.
3. THE MUSIC
With a mute main character, the music is essential to accompany her. Alexandre Desplat did an amazing job because the music really mesmerizes you and help you feel the moment as how Eliza feels it. I listened to the original score over and over again after I watched the movie. The soothing sound helps reduces my stress and tiredness. It'll also stick in your mind and make you think of this movie whenever you hear the song. Which is great for me.
4. THE COLOR OF THE MOVIE
Blue is one of the main color in this movie and it fits very well with every other color they use. Every shade of it gives you the right feels: the gloominess, the romance, the tense moments, and everything else.
5. DIFFERENT GENRE MIXED IN ONE
I'd say the line isn't very clear on how you divide the genre and that's what makes it good. One moment it's cheerful and full of happiness, the next it's full of tension that you couldn't stop staring to know what happens next. It's romantic and full of love in some way, it shows kindness and compassion, it includes a little comedy and laugh, it shows violence and cruelty too, it has some moments that kept you at the edge of your seat, and also nudity. It seems like until a quarter into the movie, you're unprepared for what you'll see.
6. A VERY NICE ENDING
I won't say I'm a hundred percent satisfied with it, only 97% satisfied ;) There are some information that I still wish is provided at least in the end of the movie, but it's just never mentioned again. I'll discuss it in the next section.
WHAT'S NOT GOOD ABOUT IT?
1. ELIZA'S ORIGINS (SPOILER ALERT)
Her last name in the movie is Esposito which means 'orphan', and she is. It was said that she was found near the river with a scar on her neck. I was wishing very much they'll explain it more, at least in the end. I was speculating that she might have some kind of relation with the creature because of the scar. Sadly it wasn't mentioned anymore even until the end. So that's one piece of information that would be great if told more in the movie.
WHAT'S SO-SO ABOUT IT?
1. THE CREATURE'S ORIGINS
They didn't give much details about the creature except that he was found in South America. His abilities wasn't explained completely. Is he an alien? Is he an ancient creature? Never mentioned. But that's not the point of the movie. Del Toro obviously doesn't want to highlight the creature's origins but its story after being captured and met Eliza. So, I wouldn't say it's a flaw at all, but some people might be wanting more details about the creature. For me, I think it's better this way because too much information might shift the point of the movie too far.
PLOT HOLES
Can't find any that is bothering enough, so I'll leave that to you guys who find them and write them in the comment section!
Conclusion: Shape Of Water deserves its Best Picture Award as well as every other category that it won in the 90th Academy Award.
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