Running head: MOVIE REVIEW: THE SHAPE OF WATER 1

Movie Review: The Shape of Water

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Movie Review: The Shape of Water

The Shape of Water, a film by Guillermo del Toro, is a story based on a 1962 Baltimore

setting at the peak of the American Cold War with Russia. The time in history was quite different

from today, where many people were marginalized by the standards of society (Mitchell &

Snyder, 2019). Women, the handicapped, black people, and gay men were all amongst those

outcast by society and essentially treated as lesser beings. All of these groups were unable to

reach the same opportunities as others at the time. On the opposite spectrum was the white man,

a class with the highest status amongst all others. All of these sides are represented by characters

in the film. Seeing through their stories, the ideologies of the time created blind hatred.

Attempting to understand others, even if considered different by society, is the antidote to this

hatred; one which is fully expressed by exploring the various themes in the film such as who was

the real monster.

The main window into the film’s story is played by Elisa, a young handicapped woman

who was abandoned in childhood. Elisa was mute all her life and used sign language to

communicate with others. In essence, this represents the idea of voiceless women in the current

social climate (Beyond the Summit, 2018). Her being both mute and a woman afforded her little

opportunity. Along with her black friend, Zelda, they worked as cleaners for a government

research facility where their input was not recognized. Giles, another friend of Elisa, lived in the

shadows of society due to his status as a gay man. In essence, these three characters were

maltreated for who they were. Elisa’s life changed when a new "asset" was brought to the facility

by Colonel Strickland. The asset was a creature that looked like an amphibian man and brought

out of a Brazilian forest where it was regarded as a god. On the other hand, Strickland was a

privileged white man who believed that he was the hero of his own story.
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Strickland considered the asset a deadly monster that should be destroyed. With the

creature held captive, he got an opportunity to exhibit his monstrous feeling of superiority by

mistreating it rather than attempting to understand it (Beyond the Summit, 2018). Earlier, the

beast in Strickland revealed itself when he had rough sex with his wife. Elisa also tasted

Strickland’s wrath when he manhandled her and claimed to be turned on by her mute status.

Strickland further told her that if she spent more time with him, he would make her squeak.

Being primal, the asset reacted aggressively by biting off two of Strickland’s fingers. A different

and more sympathetic side of the creature, however, emerged when it was treated with

compassion as seen through its interaction with Elisa. Just like Elisa, the asset had no voice for

itself and this granted them the ability to communicate. With time, Elisa and the creature

developed a friendship and even romantic feelings. In this regard, there is much more to the

amphibian man beyond being a deadly monster.

Elisa finally helped the asset to escape from captivity, which turned Strickland wild.

While in hiding, the presumed monster healed Giles to reveal the creature’s healing ability and

the concept of understanding (Mitchell & Snyder, 2019). In the mind of the creature, Giles was

also worthy regardless of his gay status. Despite his initial reluctance to accept the creature,

Giles finally accepted it as something good and forgave it for eating his cat earlier. The fateful

day arrived as Elisa and Giles prepared to release the creature into the ocean through the canal.

Strickland showed up and revealed his monstrous nature even more by furiously shooting both

Elisa and the asset. For a moment, Strickland felt satisfied but the asset started glowing bright

and healed itself. Suddenly, it struck Strickland that the creature was a god after all. Strickland

died after he got his throat slit by the creature’s claws. At last, Strickland got what he deserved

by being close-minded. It was his antiquated privilege mentality that got him killed. Strickland
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was the real monster. Elisa was, however, succumbing to her bullet wounds and the creature

scooped her up diving into the water. As the two floated together, the creature kissed her to heal

her wounds. Elisa’s scars turned into life-giving gills and the two could finally be together as

underwater breathing creatures.

As an antithesis to the classic monster films where their only destiny was to die, The

Shape of Water finally shows that it is mainly humans who are truly monstrous and the creature

is perfect just as it is. Strickland appeared picture-perfect, but he was a beast inside. What people

perceive to be monstrous is sometimes worthy of love and acceptance. Whatever held Elisa back

before now completes her in her new form. No matter what a person is it is not good to reduce

them to one word. It is good to see the other person because the antidote of hatred is

understanding. The creature in this film treated people not as a monster at all. In contrast, the

creature was a romantic hero that was worthy of love. The Shape of Water depicts a new

narrative that is strikingly relevant to contemporary times. In today’s world, people are subjected

to fear, fury and hatred every day on the mainstream media, social networking sites, and their

lives. People are constantly being persuaded to fear something. The other religion, immigrant or

gender is feared. It is, therefore, every person to realize that everyone else is worthy of

acceptance in society.
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References

Beyond the Summit. (2018, January 24). Movie Buffed #12: The Shape of Water [Video file].

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eELowK3zIEM

Mitchell, D. T., & Snyder, S. L. (2019). Room for (materiality’s) maneuver: Reading the

oppositional in Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water. JCMS: Journal of Cinema &

Media Studies, 58(4), 150–156. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=137829092&site=ehos

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