Jeri Jacquin
This Friday from the masterful writer/director Guillermo del
Toro and Fox Searchlight comes a story that captures the heart when becoming a
part of THE SHAPE OF WATER.
In 1962, Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is a young mute woman living
in a quiet world of her own. Living her life day to day in a repeating pattern,
it includes visiting her neighbor Giles (Richard Jenkins) for a little
television and being watched over at work by friend Zelda (Octavia Spencer).
Working as a cleaning lady in a government facility, one day
a strange container arrives. Being fairly invisible, Elisa is curious about
what they are working on. Hearing that whatever is in the container is
highly-classified, it doesn’t stop her from taking a look for herself.
That’s when she discovers a creature (Doug Jones) submerged
in a tank pool, yet not truly afraid of what she sees. Instead, Elisa seems to
sense that the creature is afraid and she discovers ways to put it at ease.
Through patience, Elisa and her webbed friend begin to have a friendship that
is quietly beautiful.
Keeping an eye on the laboratory is the very aggressive
Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon) who is feared by most everyone. Watching
over the experiments is Dr. Robert Hoffstetler (Michael Stuhlbarg) who isn’t a
fan of Strickland’s either and has his own secrets to keep.
Elisa sees that her creature friend is suffering and decides
she is going to do whatever it takes to help. Enlisting Giles proves to be a
challenge and a plan is made. What surprises Elisa the most is who comes out of
no where to make sure the plan works perfectly!
Strickland becomes even more hostile and ballistic and is
about to make sure every human being within his earshot suffers until the
creature is found. There is no mercy for anyone as he investigates every person
working at the laboratory. Elisa knows that time may not be on their side but
can’t turn away from her feelings.
It is a friendship that embraces their differences!
Hawkins as Elisa is absolutely endearing, lovely, heart
wrenching, soulful, playful and a dreamer of epic proportions. Every part of
Elisa’s character is in her eyes and smile which brought smiles to my own face
before I could help myself. In the life she has created, finding someone who is
also mute yet full of emotion, Elisa just dances over this film effortlessly.
Hawkins is on my list for any award she wants – yes, including an Oscar.
Jenkins as Giles is such a lovely man who is creative in a
time when things are ever changing. He loves his old movies and the friendship
with Elisa and even though he might be a tad afraid of the unknown, he is
challenged by Elisa’s will to be humane. Jenkins can portray characters that
are so sweet and harmless and Giles is such a character done so well.
Spencer as Zelda is funny, no-nonsense and protective of
Elisa. I love her monologues while mopping with Elisa and straight faced one
liners and quips when up against Strickland. I mean seriously, would expect
anything less from Spencer? Stuhlbarg as Dr. Robert Hoffstetler is definitely a
conflicted character and for reasons you will discover for yourself. I do love
his performance because I have seen Stuhlbarg be both good guy and bad and here
he mixes the two and I adore the outcome.
There are two actors in this film that we must discuss,
first Shannon as Richard Strickland is as
frightening as I know he can be. There are so many dimensions to Shannon as an actor and he always manages to surprise me.
Yes, he can be the scariest and meanest badass ever to grace a film but Shannon
never does it the same way twice or even three or four times for that matter.
Here Strickland is a complex hater of a human being and only Shannon
could have done it – and done it right.
Second, the every amazing and continually exceptional work
of Doug Jones as the creature. Jones has been at the forefront of some of the
most amazing characters and yet never seeing his face. In the 2004 film HELLBOY
he was Abe Sapien, teaming up with Del Torro in the 2006 film PAN’S LABYRINTH
he was the Pale Man, in 2007 he starred in FANTASTIC 4: Rise of the Silver
Surfer as the Silver Surfer, in 2010’s LEGION he was the Ice Cream Man
(creepier than all get out people!) and back with Del Torro in the 2015 horror
offering of CRIMSON PEAK.
Let us not forget television when in 2014 he played one of
my favorite characters in the series Falling
Skies as Cochise, gave us a new vampire in the FX series The Strain as one of The Ancient’s and
is now part of the trekkie family with Star
Trek: Discovery.
Now, in THE SHAPE OF WATER, Jones once again portrays a
character that is all about the physicality of storytelling. Over all that
costuming, a persona comes to life that is easy to love and want to protect.
That’s what Jones brings out in us all with this performance. In case you might
be wondering, I had the opportunity to speak with Doug last year when he was
promoting the space film SPACE COMMAND. All I can say is that he is lovely,
charming and funny so perhaps I have more of a bit of a soft spot for his portrayal
of this endearing creature. Amazing performance Doug and congratulations for
making us all fall in love with love again!
Other cast include David Hewlett as Fleming, Nick Searcy as
General Hoyt, Stewart Arnott as Bernard, Nigel Bennett as Mihalkov, Lauren Lee
Smith as Elaine Strickland, Martin Roach as Brewster Fuller, Allegra Fulton as
Yolanda and John Kapelos as Mr. Arzoumanian.
THE SHAPE OF WATER is a film that is so magnificently shot
with nuances that I couldn’t get enough of. The story is one of beauty,
loneliness, fear, courage, music, caring, anger, betrayal, secrets, friendships
and about every human emotion on the spectrum.
It is just a beautiful story that is covered in a cast that
makes every moment theatre worthy. Crafted in the del Toro magic, there is so
much to enjoy and not necessarily garbled with words but instead pure emotion
and an endless supply of love
In the end – it is a fairy tale for troubled times!
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