THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017) ****

Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water is further proof that most women just want a quiet guy with a great set of abs.  The fact that he’s a fish man is kind of beside the point.  In del Toro’s universe, love is blind.

It’s also mute.  As in, Elisa (Sally Hawkins) the heroine is a mute.  She works as a cleaning lady in a top-secret government lab.  One day, an amphibian humanoid known only as “The Asset” (Doug Jones) is brought in by his handler, Strickland (Michael Shannon) for observation and experimentation.  Strickland rules over the creature with an iron fist, gleefully giving him shocks from his trusty cattle prod (“The Alabama Howdy-Doo”) whenever he acts up.  Elisa shows The Asset kindness by… Hold on, I can’t keep calling this guy “The Asset”, because that just sounds too funky.  We’ll just call him Gill.

Anyway, Elisa shows Gill a little kindness and even develops a crush on him.  When she learns that Strickland intends on killing Gill, she ropes a coworker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) and a neighbor (Richard Jenkins) in on a plan to help him escape.  Naturally, that sends Strickland on a warpath, and he’ll stop at nothing until he gets his hands on Gill.

The Shape of Water is Guillermo del Toro’s seamless blend of late night creature feature, forbidden love story, and fairy tale.  It works as an exemplary take on each of those conventions.  Imagine if Douglas Sirk and Jean Cocteau had teamed up to direct The Creature from the Black Lagoon.  

Del Toro does a great little shorthand to endear the character of Elisa to the audience early on by showing her masturbatory routine.  I mean you have to respect anyone who can rub one out just before work.  It’s exactly the sort of thing that makes her instantly relatable to the audience.

I also love del Toro’s childlike nonjudgmental handling of Elisa and Gill’s relationship.  At one point, they even partake in a black and white song and dance number.  Forget Fred and Ginger.  Wait till you get a load of Gill and Elisa.  

Del Toro contrasts this by showing us Strickland’s own sexual routine.  Let me tell you this.  When you see the matter-of-fact way Strickland sticks it to his wife, Gill’s treatment of Elisa is downright beautiful.  One thing is for sure:  Fish men mating techniques have come a long way since the days of Humanoids from the Deep.

Hawkins is good and all, and Jones can do this sort of mo-cap creature work in his sleep by now.  Jenkins gives us yet another classic Richard Jenkins character.  They’re all solid, and give ample life to the characters they play.

It is Shannon who dominates the screen.  He’s played some slimy, creepy assholes before, but this is some next level shit.  It is a tour de force in every way. He’s maniacal and disgusting, yet wickedly funny at the same time.  Whenever he’s on screen, you can’t take your eyes off him.  It’s one of his most mesmerizing performances and is easily one of the best performances of the year.