The Shape of Water 2017

     The setting of this film is the Cold War era in America of 1962.  Elisa and Zelda are cleaning women inside a hidden high-security and secret government laboratory in Baltimore, Maryland.  Elisa cannot speak but she uses sign language, Zelda knows what she is saying and Elisa has never been able to speak.  Her co-worker Zelda is her only friend except Giles.  Elisa and Giles live in separate nearby apartments above a movie theater.  Elisa and Zelda discover what is going on with a secret classified experiment.  They would be in a LOT of trouble if anyone discovered that they know so much?

     I really liked this film and I knew there would be some scenes of violence since Michael Shannon was cast as one of the lead actors.  I was really drawn into this film and I really enjoyed watching.  I said out loud that it was one of the happiest days of my life when bad thing started to happen to Michael Shannon!!!  Usually he is the one dishing out the bad things!!  I didn’t notice this during viewing but Elisa wears more and more red clothing as the film progresses.  I did notice that she had purchased a pair of red shoes that she had admired.  The color green is also a recurring theme with the lime pie slices in Giles’ fridge as an example.  Hawkins has some underwater scenes in this film.  She learned after completion of this filming that there were also underwater scenes for her next film Paddington 2 of 2017.  4 1/2* (I loved this movie)

123 min, Adventure directed by Guillermo del Toro with Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones, David Hewlett, Nick Searcy, Steward Arnott, Nigel Bennett, Lauren Lee Smith, Martin Roach, Allegra Fulton, John Kapelos.

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10, 92% critic 73% audience, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 1405 reviews, Roger Ebert 2 ½*, Metacritic 87 out of 100 with 53 critics 7 out of 10 with 778 reviews, Empire Online 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  At the premier of this film was held at the Toronto International Film Festival, the screening was shown at the Elgin Theatre.  In the movie, the apartments where Elisa and Giles live are above this Theatre.  Director Guillermo del Toro said that Sally Hawkins was his first choice and the only choice for Elisa.  He also wrote the movie with Sally in mind and also with Michael Shannon in mind.  The film Creature from the Black Lagoon of 1954 heavily inspired this story.  The Creature and a character in this film were both discovered in the Amazon River in South America.  Studio filming was used for 95% of this film and the limited exterior shots required lots of rain.  The rain needed to be artificially created and then warmed due to the chilly Canadian winter temperatures.  This film is the top grossing Best Picture Winner in five years.  It grossed over $194 million worldwide with a budget of about $19 million and it’s the first science fiction film to win Best Picture.  There is another film with the same title from 2006.