Guillermo del Toro’s beautiful creature feature The Shape of Water
The trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s latest film, ‘The Shape of Water’, dropped last week.1428 Elm caught a glimpse and it’s simply stunning.
“He doesn’t know how I am incomplete. He sees me as I am.”
Guillermo del Toro’s Tale as Old as Time
Some of the first horror movies I saw as a child were courtesy of Universal Pictures. I loved watching Bela Lugosi as Dracula and Boris Karloff as Frankenstein. Who can forget the tormented genius of Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Wolf Man?
Where most people saw them as monsters to be feared, I looked past their exteriors to see their souls. For me, they were misunderstood and often maligned. All those creatures wanted was someone to understand them and accept them for who they were.
Which brings me to Guillermo del Toro’s achingly haunting trailer for his latest film, The Shape of Water. It is a winning combination of voluptuous photography amidst the background of the Cold War era in America with a story very reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast.
Guillermo Del Toro – The Shape of Water- Elisa- Courtesy of Fox Searchlight and Bull Productions
The Princess without a Voice
Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is a mute cleaning woman at a science facility. Her life is pretty routine. Punch in, punch out nothing out of the ordinary until she takes on a new assignment for Strickland (Michael Shannon). He asks her to clean his lab but once it is done, she is to leave immediately. Of course, this sounds pretty suspicious.
Then one day, Elisa is surprised to discover while eating her lunch near one of the water tanks that a creature is lurking below the surface. They develop a relationship over time. She teaches him words through sign language and even the joy of music.
The other scientists realize that this entity is capable of higher thought and emotions. Strickland only sees the being as something to be experimented on and dissected. What ensues is a tale as old as time. A love against all odds. Will Elisa save the only being that has ever understood her or will the creature fall prey to the evil intentions of Strickland?
The Future and a Golden Man?
Already receiving good buzz, this movie seems poised for a stellar opening weekend right before Oscar season. Once again, it appears that del Toro has put his signature on the classic fairy tale. He has turned a monster saga into a heartbreaking story about intolerance and the unwillingness to accept those that are different from us.
Watch the trailer and see what you think.
The Shape of Water also stars Oscar winner, Octavia Spencer (The Help) and Richard Jenkins (Cabin in the Woods). It opens in theaters on Dec. 8.
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