The Shape Of Water

How do I describe this movie? What is it’s genre? Fantasy? Sci-Fi? Action? Romance? Horror? Musical? Film noir? Spy movie? Comedy? Umm, yes to all.

This film was nominated for seven Golden Globes a few days ago, so I went to see what all this adoration was about. Hmm, how can I describe it? I think they are marketing it as a romance but I find it difficult to wax poetic about the Creature From the Black Lagoon entwined with a naked Adrian from Rocky I. Sally Hawkins could be Talia Shire’s clone. There are some very violent bloody scenes, several horror scenes, many really cringe worthy scenes (like the Pie Guy, or when the creature eats the cat’s head or Michael Shannon’s gangrene fingers) and then there is the scene where the creature and his love, Elisa, break into dance ala Fred and Ginger.

Michael Shannon is a wonderfully creepy evil villain. His wife, a bawdy Mrs. Cleaver, is quite a piece of work and their “love” scene will give you nightmares. Just about everything Michael Shannon does in this movie makes you want to take a shower.

My favorite, Nick Searcy, is always a treat as the evil General who wants the “asset” autopsied. Richard Jenkins, in his slipping toupee and love of pie is the comic relief but also the sad sack loser. Then there are the Russian spies with sub-titles.

Bradley Whitford, in an uncredited role, plays a bumbling colleague of Shannon’s. Octavia Spencer plays Elisa’s talkative friend. I keep wondering if there’s a law in Hollywood that every movie has to have either Octavia Spencer or Samuel Jackson in their film. Fine actors but……..seriously?

Throughout the movie there is a theme about “green”. Green jello, green key lime pie, Shannon’s green candy, green car, and his wife’s green desert.

I find it interesting that so many of the films that win Academy Awards or Golden Globes are not movies we’d care to see again.