“The Shape of Water”

I became an avid moviegoer young in life, living in Boston’s South End. Movie theaters were a short walk away, even for a seven or eight year old. I was particularly drawn to horror movies and saw nearly every one that hit the local screens. Ticket prices were about a quarter, but on occasion you could get a balcony seat for a dime! Those were the days. And what’s more, that was for a double feature, a serial like “Batman”, and a cartoon and maybe a newsreel thrown in! But I digress.

“The Shape of Water” was only playing on one screen within thirty miles. I checked out the cast and with the likes of Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer and Michael Stuhlbarg, I decided to make the trek.

As a kid, one of my favorite horror movies was “The Creature from the Black Lagoon”. The thrill of a half man, half amphibian lurking beneath the swamp waters was irresistible. I always made sure to visit the rest room before taking my seat to avoid accidents! Fast forward 63 years (yikes!) and the wonderful director Guillermo del Toro treats us to an artistic, mesmerizing new version of the story.

Elisa and Zelda, (Hawkins and Spencer) play evening shift cleaning ladies at a top secret laboratory in Baltimore. Elisa is mute, yet she and Zelda communicate beautifully. The plot unfolds with the arrival of a captured amphibian/man creature confined to a water tank or shackled in a small pool. Elisa cautiously befriends the beast with offerings of boiled eggs and serenades of jazz music.

Back stories abound featuring Cold War Russian spies interested in the creature, to Elisa’s next door neighbor, an out of work advertising illustrator played brilliantly by Richard Jenkins. Add to all of this a sadistic government tough guy who oversees the creature and subjects it to unnecessary torture and mistreatment. Michael Shannon seems to be in every other movie made, and for good reason. He is brilliant.

This is a beautifully made film that is part fairy tale, part love story with some wonderful music thrown in. It brought me back to my childhood, not just at the theater, but everyday life in the fifties.

Treat yourself when “The Shape of Water” shows up in your neighborhood. Sally Hawkins is mesmerizing, and even in a silent role she delights. I was drawn to her talent in the recent film “Maudie”and it is no surprise that she delivers still another Oscar potential performance.

This is not your everyday movie. Guillermo del Toro does not make those kind of films, so be prepared once again to venture into an alternate reality and sit back and enjoy.