Review: The Shape of Water (2017).

The Shape of Water (2017). Directed Guillermo del Toro. Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor.

[Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer.]

"Unable to perceive the shape of you, I find you all around me."

Such an underrated and overlooked genre. Magical Realism; allowing fantasy to swallow the normality of the average human life.

This story is told with such gentle, tentative care. Delicately opening us up to a world we may never experience, but certainly understand.

A desire to be understood- in ones entirety- with or without words. To love and to be loved, and the sacrifices you would be willing to make in the name of it.

How tender this story is, so sweetly created by Del Toro; there is so much of himself he put into this film and it is beyond evident.

Disregarding all romantic-film tropes, the shape of water redefines the way we both communicate and express love & affection. Whether it be in the romantic sense, platonic friendships, or even the love between a mute woman and a mystical sea creature. We quickly begin to question the way we approach and understand being in love.

It feels almost criminal to try and encapsulate the artistry of the Shape of Water; i feel so much that it is short of overwhelming. And how wonderful is that? To be swallowed whole, left both stunned and frankly wordless by a film.

It is an example of being in love.. In a slightly different way- but the emotions are no less real. (another example: Her- 2013.) Paired with classic film elements such as; action, drama, the chase and many close-calls.

The score is both gentle and lighthearted, translating all unsaid words into emotions- better than any vocabulary alone could say.

Our interest never wavers and if there is anything to take away from this film; love and being in love is extremely special. Whether it be between friendship or a self-aware mystical sea creature.

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