Romantic fantasy story told in an expected but strangely ways

(Guillermo del Toro's Shape of Water)

The shape of water, another Guillermo del Toro obsession about a fish man. I don’t know why he is so obsessed with that creature, if you don’t know Guillermo del Toro is also the man who responsible for one of Hellboy character which is Abe, another Fish man. At first when i saw the title i never expected this is a romance story which include this freaky thing. But, Guillermo del Toro is famous because of his unique creation. He is also directed Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, Hellboy and Crimson Peak. I am surprised when i heard this movie won the best picture in Oscar 2018, i haven’t watch it yet at that time and the award is the only thing that drives me to watch this movie. Besides that the cast are pretty amazing, The main character is Eliza Esposito played by Sally Hawkins not a fan but still admire her acting skills, the amphibian man played by the same man who played Abe in Hellboy Mr. Doug Jones and one of my favorite antagonist actor, Michael Shannon who played as Strickland. There are several positive critique about this movie, is this movie really worth winning the best picture? Let’s breakdown this movie and find out!

The Main Story

The story mainly tells about a mute girl, Eliza Esposito (Sally Hawkins) who work in secret government facility. She has one best friend, Zelda played by one of talented actress Octavia Spencer, she is also have another best friend in her apartment an old man named Giles played by veteran actor Richard Jenkins. One day the facility host one of greatest findings by US government, which is the Amphibian Man. They found him inside Amazon River and drag him to the facility for further study. Eliza found interest in knowing more about the creature, so she accompanied him inside the facility without the commanding security officer permission, Strickland (Michael Shannon) permission. Time after time Eliza grown some empathy towards the creature and the rest is history. Im not a fan of fantasy-drama-romantic movies so maybe my judgement a little bit bias, but the story isn’t that intriguing yet feels not authentic. It is so cliche so the audience can easily predict the story from beginning till the end, and from my amateur observation there are several thing is missing from the story. For example, the romance between Eliza and Amphibian Man feels so hollow to me. I can’t feel the affection not because the acting but because there isn’t

explanation about the process, every relationship needs a process. From what i’ve seen, it’s all suddenly happened, i don’t know if it’s the story about unconditional love or simply just passion and lust. I think this story deserve a longer duration just to tell the development of the affection between Eliza and Amphibian Man. Maybe Eliza fells instantly in love just because she is lonely, incapable of loving normal person and she finds similarity in Amphibian Man but come on...it is still need a process of a relationship, i think this story lack of that element.

But on the other side, i like how they deliver the story. I thought it would be some kind of boring romance movie with a slow pace, but fortunately it's very enjoyable and keeps audience eyes open. There are certain humor and entertaining element that fills the story, the dialogue between Eliza and Zelda is one of the best filler inside the movie. The conflict of interest between Strickland and Dr.Robert Hoffstetler (Michael Stuhlbarg), and also the espionage story inside the movie also makes the audience interested. I never expect that the amphibian man has a magic power, i think that could be a plus or a minus for this movie because the power he has can force the end of the movie into happy ending, but on the other side it can be an unexpected factor and the explanation why people of Amazon recognize him as a god.

The Character

(Guillermo del Toro and the cast of "The Shape of Water")

Well i think the cast are pretty amazing and they did a really good job to represent the character inside the movie. I'm amaze with Sally Hawkins because of her ability to naturally acted as a mute girl. Every character inside the story has a difference between one and another and that what makes this movie is good to watch. The character of Dr.hoffstetler really become a game changing situation inside this movie but the one i like it the most is Strickland. This movie needs a cruel person and ambitious person like Strickland, the fact that he is wanted to get credit from his superior officer makes him even worse. The bond between Eliza and Giles is also unique, Giles with a soft and caring personality combined with the innocence and bravery of Eliza really gives an extra point for this movie.

The Technical

(Behind the scene of "The Shape of Water")

Well i must give a credit for the guy who responsible to take care property for this movie, because i think it is really amazing. I like how the cage of the amphibian man looks like and the container which brought him into the facility i think the detail is perfect, and how they choose the car, the building and the color for this movie is really good i think. The costume or make up for the Amphibian man is also perfect, sometimes i cringe a little bit when i see him but it's a sign that the costume is really natural.

In the picture above you can see what i mean, the room for the asset, the container of the asset really looks real. I like how the container look not so advanced regarding the years in this movie. And i amaze how they can put this movie colored a little blue-green-ish in all of the scene, it is really fit with the ambience of this movie. From what i've seen i think how they shoot an angle or the dialogue is the style like one of the old times movie.

Conclusion

Maybe not the best movie of the year for me but it's still entertaining. Sadly for this movie i think the weakest part is the story which is the most important factor in a movie. But i think, they have a purpose here, they want to show us the unconditional love (unfortunately some elements are missing so this point is kind irrelevant) and how big you want to sacrifice for the one you love. Overall, it is seems like another cat and mouse story and i think this movie can be more than that.

Wiseacre Rating

Story: 6,5/10

Character: 7,5/10

Technical: 8,0/10

OVERALL SCORE: 7,3/10