25 - 80 - 13
May Contain Spoilers.
Guillermo del Toro is a fine writer/director. My favorite of his efforts is "Hellboy II - The Golden Army," which I think is on par with the original "Star Wars" films in terms of being a fantasy story. One of my favorite aspects of Hellboy II is that it begins with the fairy tale of 'The Golden Army.' A fairy tale that drives the entire narrative.
"The Shape of Water" is also a fairy tale, but not as compelling or driving in terms of narrative. Part of the reason is that the narrative isn't super strong in the second act. The screenplay for this film was co-written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor (story by del Toro).
The first act plays out pretty well. After getting to know our lead Elisa (played by Sally Hawkins) via her morning routine, we find out she cleans a lab that is very high security for its 1960s setting. About 10 minutes in, there is the Point-of-Attack (POA), which is the mention of a "new asset," which is the Amphibian Man (played by Doug Jones).
The first act ends at around 25 minutes, when Elisa feeds an egg and teaches a word (again "egg") via sign language to the Amphibian Man. Already at this point, I thought this was very clever, two people who can't speak (as Elisa is a mute), but sign language is something that can be learned and shared between them.
The next 40 minutes play out quite well. The relationship develops between Elisa and the Amphibian Man. We find out that one of the doctor's in the lab, Bob (played by Michael Stuhlbarg), is actually a Russian spy. The story also has a clock put on it, as the higher ups decide the best course of action is to kill the asset and basically dissect him. Short of stealing the asset, the Russians want to do the same thing. They would rather the Americans have no asset than get to study him.
So about halfway through the second act (at 42 minutes), Eliza, her neighbor/friend Giles (played by Richard Jenkins), and her co-worker/friend Zelda (played by Octavia Spencer), rescue the asset from the lab. They are also helped by Bob, who does not want to see the asset killed by either side. He sees the asset's intelligence when interacting with Elisa, and does not like it when his boss Strickland (played by Michael Shannon) continuously attacks "the beast" with a cattle prod.
The escape is important in terms of plot because the protagonists are "closest to" their goals, which is setting the Amphibian Man free. At this point, there is a designation that on the 10th day of the month, the river beds will be full from the impending rain, and the asset will be ale to swim out to sea and be free. Again, the screenplay sets up a time and place for the next part of the escape, which works just fine.
Getting the asset out of the lab is exciting, and the action of it all is interesting. However, the back half of the second act focuses more on the love story and understanding the Amphibian Man, who has more powers than just being able to breath under water and out of water.
The second act ends when Srickland shoots the traitor Bob, who tells him that the asset's escape was not done by a Russian strike team, but by the women who clean the lab.
This leaves a very short, yet satisfying third act of around 13 minutes. Sufficed to say, it all ends on a happy (fairy tale like) note. Breaking down a movie is not an exact science, but this just feels like the way in which the film breaks down. I feel the third act is way too short and the pursuit by Strickland was simplified to that end.
What works for the movie is the acting, especially by Hawkins and Jones. Overall, I really like this love story. It is different and compelling because of the 'beauty and the best' aspect of it, but I just feel like the narrative needed more focus. I do not believe this should win Best Picture at the 2018 Oscars, but it is a 7/10 in my book.
May Contain Spoilers.
Guillermo del Toro is a fine writer/director. My favorite of his efforts is "Hellboy II - The Golden Army," which I think is on par with the original "Star Wars" films in terms of being a fantasy story. One of my favorite aspects of Hellboy II is that it begins with the fairy tale of 'The Golden Army.' A fairy tale that drives the entire narrative.
"The Shape of Water" is also a fairy tale, but not as compelling or driving in terms of narrative. Part of the reason is that the narrative isn't super strong in the second act. The screenplay for this film was co-written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor (story by del Toro).
The first act plays out pretty well. After getting to know our lead Elisa (played by Sally Hawkins) via her morning routine, we find out she cleans a lab that is very high security for its 1960s setting. About 10 minutes in, there is the Point-of-Attack (POA), which is the mention of a "new asset," which is the Amphibian Man (played by Doug Jones).
The first act ends at around 25 minutes, when Elisa feeds an egg and teaches a word (again "egg") via sign language to the Amphibian Man. Already at this point, I thought this was very clever, two people who can't speak (as Elisa is a mute), but sign language is something that can be learned and shared between them.
The next 40 minutes play out quite well. The relationship develops between Elisa and the Amphibian Man. We find out that one of the doctor's in the lab, Bob (played by Michael Stuhlbarg), is actually a Russian spy. The story also has a clock put on it, as the higher ups decide the best course of action is to kill the asset and basically dissect him. Short of stealing the asset, the Russians want to do the same thing. They would rather the Americans have no asset than get to study him.
So about halfway through the second act (at 42 minutes), Eliza, her neighbor/friend Giles (played by Richard Jenkins), and her co-worker/friend Zelda (played by Octavia Spencer), rescue the asset from the lab. They are also helped by Bob, who does not want to see the asset killed by either side. He sees the asset's intelligence when interacting with Elisa, and does not like it when his boss Strickland (played by Michael Shannon) continuously attacks "the beast" with a cattle prod.
The escape is important in terms of plot because the protagonists are "closest to" their goals, which is setting the Amphibian Man free. At this point, there is a designation that on the 10th day of the month, the river beds will be full from the impending rain, and the asset will be ale to swim out to sea and be free. Again, the screenplay sets up a time and place for the next part of the escape, which works just fine.
Getting the asset out of the lab is exciting, and the action of it all is interesting. However, the back half of the second act focuses more on the love story and understanding the Amphibian Man, who has more powers than just being able to breath under water and out of water.
The second act ends when Srickland shoots the traitor Bob, who tells him that the asset's escape was not done by a Russian strike team, but by the women who clean the lab.
This leaves a very short, yet satisfying third act of around 13 minutes. Sufficed to say, it all ends on a happy (fairy tale like) note. Breaking down a movie is not an exact science, but this just feels like the way in which the film breaks down. I feel the third act is way too short and the pursuit by Strickland was simplified to that end.
What works for the movie is the acting, especially by Hawkins and Jones. Overall, I really like this love story. It is different and compelling because of the 'beauty and the best' aspect of it, but I just feel like the narrative needed more focus. I do not believe this should win Best Picture at the 2018 Oscars, but it is a 7/10 in my book.
