The Shape of Water is a sci-fi drama directed and co-written by Guillermo del Toro (Crimson Peak, Pacific Rim). The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival and screened at TIFF in September. It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer.
From master story teller, Guillermo del Toro, comes THE SHAPE OF WATER – an other-worldly fable, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.
There’s a lot of love going on in del Toro’s film, not just between the main characters. “There’s a pure love between Elisa and the creature, but government agent Strickland is also trying to love, though we experience that his love is brutal, and Elisa’s neighbor Giles is looking for a love frowned upon in that time, and Elisa’s best friend Zelda is in love with a man who does not deserve her love. Even the General overseeing the laboratory has a kind of father/son love story with Strickland.”
The Shape of Water is rated 14A.
