You want to play Duck Duck Goose? AGAIN?
The Shape Of Water (2017) is a classic Other story that explores the precarious positives of being outsiders in an existentially-endangered society. They’re much like defective supports in a skyscraper – perform to expectations, no matter how absurd, or be squashed. Pursue the objectives everyone is expected to pursue, or become an object of abhorrent curiosity. Love who you’re expected to love.
Or be outcast.
Elisa, Zelda, and Giles are part of the informal Other community in New Orleans when they become aware, mostly because of Elisa’s curiosity, of a new member of the community – the captive of a research facility for which Elisa and Zelda work. Who is it? What is it? It’s the latter question that motivates Elisa, feeling alienated from society and with little to lose, to explore a relationship with… it. But all is endangered by the man who enslaved the creature, a raging ball of ambition who embodies the very attributes of conventionality, xenophobia and arrogance. And all is reinforced by those damaged fingers of his which have a symbolic significance that I’d rather not consider.
And that leads to the question: How do you rescue something when you’re not even sure what it needs?
This is a Guillermo del Toro movie, so you know the visuals will be detailed and fascinating, and as my Arts Editor remarked, the color palette was lush and the setting stunningly rendered.
But there are some open questions which might have been better answered. For example, Elisa is mute, which is attributed to someone cutting her vocal chords when she was very young – the scarring is subtle but present. Indeed, her origins are entirely mysterious. But WHY? That bothered me. It’s as if a deus ex machina had occurred, and it struck me as some sort of lost opportunity, although exactly how to take advantage of it is unclear. But it’s such an oddity that it should have been addressed.
And why the Soviet agent in the mix? While Other, he’s not part of the Other community. He certainly suffers the emotional stringency of mixing the fundamental drives of a scientist with the decisions of a ruthless political hierarchy. I have not quite sorted out his treatment by his peers, though, unless the Soviet hierarchy, another example of a dominant and xenophobic society, serves to reinforce the horror and continuous errors of the orthodox.
All that said, it’s a fascinating story to follow. Information comes out slowly and plays with the intellect, and if unexpected events occur, they seem mostly organic, although younger viewers may find the Soviet actions somewhat artificial. However, the reputation of the Soviet Union for brutal use of both enemies and their own colleagues renders those scenes believable by those aware of that history. And if that history is false, perhaps only those who lived in the Soviet Union of the time will know.
There is a scene or two of explicit sex, so be aware if you object. There is also violence, but nothing gratuitous, although you will flinch and empathize with the victims. As a friend who recommended the movie says, each scene of violence serves a purpose in the plot.
Recommended.
