Movie Review: The Shape of Water

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland










Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Review: A beautiful work of cinematic art and a perfect love letter to cinema itself.

Guillermo del Toro  is a true lover of film. More than just a story about a mute woman's relationship with a sea creature, this movie is del Toro's  intense passion of cinema put right up there on screen. Probably the most obvious tribute is the showing of clips of various movies from Hollywood's golden age. One particularly delightful scene involves our main character mimicking Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. There is even a dream sequence in which she imagines herself in an old musical. This love of films is made even more clear by her living in an apartment above a classic movie house. The love of cinema does not end at references to old movies though. Every shot in this film was so beautifully and masterfully thought out. The amount of detail that went into the visual filmmaking in this movie is absolutely incredible. Such an incredible feats as the cinematography, sets, lighting and so much more shown in this movie can only be accomplished by a crew who was passionate about what they were making. Praising the visuals so strongly is by no means saying the story is extremely strong as well. While this may be an "R" rated fairy tale, the movie is never an excuse for vulgarity and gore. This story came from just as much passion as the visuals. Del Torro has said that his idea for making this film came around the age of six from seeing Julie Adams swimming as the Creature of the Black Lagoon watched. In his own dark and twisted way this movie is paying a passionate tribute to that 1954 classic. Still the film never copies that earlier movie but is its own unique piece of cinema.

It is rare in modern times to find such a beautiful and passionate film playing outside an art-house theater and I believe when something like this comes along we must truly cherish it. I don't know how the average audience member would react to this movie, but if you are (like me) a lover of cinema you should not miss this incredible movie.

-Michael J. Ruhland