the shape of water worth the hype?

The Shape of Water is a story about Elisa Esposito, Sally Hawkins, who discovers an unusual amphibian whilst working as a cleaner at a secretive research facility. Elisa and the creature form an intimate relationship due to both being unable to communicate with others. Through this bold creative decision the director, Guillermo del Toro, challenges concepts of sexuality and communication. Elisa’s close friend Zelda, Octavia Spencer, and closeted gay neighbour Giles, Richard Jenkins, helps Elisa free the amphibian when other people want to destroy it.

The opening scene hints the character development of the main character Elisa. Through a voiceover it explains her character profile whilst creating lots of questions to intrigue the audience in the story. It is well filmed with a beautiful colour overlay. At the end of the film it refers back to this scene creating a full-circle kind of effect for the audience, which persuades the audience to think about the media they just consumed.

Guillermo del Toro is an excellent storyteller. The audience quickly find themselves becoming attached to the characters, especially the protagonist Elisa. This leaves the audience surprisingly rooting for the unusual relationship between Elisa and the creature. Even when it develops into a sexual relationship it is somehow hard to see it as a strange or a taboo activity.

The production design for this movie was awarded the Oscar in 2018. This is no surprise as all props, visual effects and lighting were carefully designed with a purpose. Not to mention they are all beautiful!

The Shape of Water was originally supposed to be a black and white film but Guillermo del Toro changed his mind and created a palette which he used as an important storytelling technique. Elisa’s apartment, housed above a movie theatre, looked like a water-habitat for the creature which could highlight the relationship between the creature and Elisa as they are similar. This connotation was created by using the colour blue and shooting in cold light for Elisa’s apartment compared to the other character’s houses which are colour coded in day like colours like yellow. The colour red was reserved for romance scenes to highlight their relationship.

The audience had to fall in love with the creature so that it was not a taboo relationship, therefore Del Toro spend four years generating ideas for the creature’s look. The crew used a mixture of practical effects and computer generated imagery. Doug Jones, the creature, wore a full-body prosthetic suit when acting out scenes. Then the visuals effects team added digital effects, like extra colour shades and textures, which brought the character to life.

The sound department had to ensure that the creature sounded realistic, in terms of breathing and vocalizations to movements of gills. The sound department used a variety of noises when creating the creature. Using animal noises, such as cooing pigeons, to male human noises.

The Oscar’s also awarded The Shape of Water with best original score. The soundtrack reflects the narrative of the movie well. The score is constructed around three main themes – one for the creature, one for Elisa, and one for their developing relationship. The relationship theme appears to be a merge of the melodies used in the first two themes signifying the connection between them both.

This is film is a fairy-tale story for adults, with amazing artistic elements which complimented the magical and unique plot, making it a heart-warming film not to be missed. All aspects of this film work well together and lead the audience on a humble journey, about a girl and a miracle.