The Shape of Water (2017) is one of those movies where there is no in-between. To be enjoyed the viewer must suspend disbelief, accept outrageousness. It is a fable, the type in which Mexico's Guillermo del Toro specializes. The setting is Baltimore 1962. A being captured in South America, similar to the
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1955), is kept in a warehouse. What to do with it? Study it, kill it and study its anatomy, just kill it? A mute female janitor is touched by the Amphibian Man's plight and plots to free him. The tale is also reminiscent of
Beauty and the Beast, although the female character has only inner beauty. She is played by Britain's Sally Hawkins, who won the Oscar for Best Actress. The villains are the agent who captured the creature, his boss, a general, and two communist agents. While not exactly full stereotypes, they are close enough. The American meanies are played by the ever reliable Michael Shannon and Nick Searcy. Most of the rest of the cast was vaguely familiar. Researching them at IMDb, all have impressive credits. Doug Jones plays the beast, a role similar to one in played in del Toro's magnificent
Pan's Labyrinth (2006). Octavia Spencer adds much needed pizazz as the protagonist's sidekick. The film received 13 nominations, winning for Best Picture, direction, score and production design. Vanessa Taylor co-wrote the screenplay with del Toro. 248,000+ users at IMDb have rated the flick, forging to a consensus of 7.4 on a scale of ten. Anyone offended by nudity should pass. So the question is - does one accept the narrative at face value or is there larger meaning to it? Here's an excerpt from what Stephen Applebaum at thenational.ae has to say: "...he is really talking about today and what it feels like to be an outsider or part of a minority, who in story terms is represented by characters such as Hawkins’ silent Elisa and her fish-out-of-water lover; an artist and a black co-worker. On the surface, the US of the film oozes confidence and optimism. It is the US, says Del Toro, that people have in mind when you hear “Make America Great Again”. It is, though, rotting from within." I wonder if Academy voters interpreted it that way. Does the rot include that unemployment among minorities is at an all-time low? One can make a great argument that the USA is/has been rotting from within for decades - and cite points from the right or left side of the political spectrum as proof. Since I'm a supporter of President Trump's policies, I will recuse myself, ala Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and not offer an opinion about
The Shape of Water. I'm just as biased as its creators. Here's a pic I'd hoped to find, a comparison of the creatures:
My thanks to the young woman who bought
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, and to the gentleman who purchased a huge pictorial on children's comic strips; and to the woman who selected Stephen King's
The Night Shift. Special thanks to the senior couple who donated about 25 books, mostly hardcover, which include 11 by Mr. King.
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