The Shape of Water

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  • The Shape of Water

    "E.T." meets "Splash" meets "The Creature From the Black Lagoon." although i appreciated the weirdness and occasionally dark humor moments, it didn't feel as magical for me as i think GDT seems to be aiming for. ultimately, something wasn't clicking in the love story between Sally Hawkins' mute Elisa and the unnamed man-fish dude. i just never connected with their relationship the way i think i was supposed to.

  • #2
    Re: The Shape of Water

    Something about the trailer was pretty off putting. I admit that a story about a woman and some fish creature is a little icky... it smacks of bestiality. I'll suspend belief and watch it because of the director, but it's not a movie I look forward to.

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    • #3
      Re: The Shape of Water

      Originally posted by JoeBanks View Post
      ultimately, something wasn't clicking in the love story between Sally Hawkins' mute Elisa and the unnamed man-fish dude. i just never connected with their relationship the way i think i was supposed to.
      Honestly, to me it seemed like there was a whole lot of film missing, like the parts that showed more of their blossoming romance. Perhaps there will be a director's cut or something that goes more into their relationship.

      Although I truly enjoyed the film and did "get" their attraction for each other, it just seemed to need more tender moments.

      Spoilers below.....






      Did everyone who saw this realize early on that she was a mermaid and the "scars" on her neck were under-used gills? Being that she was found as a baby by the water's edge and all, I feel they gave that away too soon in the film.

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      • #4
        Re: The Shape of Water

        Originally posted by Darthclaw13 View Post
        Honestly, to me it seemed like there was a whole lot of film missing, like the parts that showed more of their blossoming romance. Perhaps there will be a director's cut or something that goes more into their relationship.

        Although I truly enjoyed the film and did "get" their attraction for each other, it just seemed to need more tender moments.

        Spoilers below.....






        Did everyone who saw this realize early on that she was a mermaid and the "scars" on her neck were under-used gills? Being that she was found as a baby by the water's edge and all, I feel they gave that away too soon in the film.
        yeah, i didn't get any of that in the ending (i mean, i got that the scars resembled gills but not that they might actually be vestigial or anything).

        but yes, one of the reasons i think i didn't "get" their attraction was that it wasn't really earned onscreen in the way most romances are. which is a challenge when the dude is a fish who doesn't speak our language but . . . compared to something like Beauty And The Beast, they didn't have that spark for me

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        • #5
          Re: The Shape of Water

          I didn't have any of those problems with the film. I loved it. From the first scene, I bought into the gritty and adult fairy tale world. I found it totally original. I've talked to two friends who've seen it - not screenwriters - and they loved it, too. Sometimes, as a writer, I know I tend to be too hard on films. A gap in logic, a whiff of predictability, and I turn against the whole thing. For some reason, this film switched off my inner critic. Maybe it was the amazing blue-gray color palate, the period setting which scarily felt very prescient of today, Sally Hawkins' expressive face. The critical arguments against the film make sense but made no difference to me. My $.02.

          Late Night Writer

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          • #6
            Re: The Shape of Water

            i grant all of those things -- original, look and feel, Sally Hawkins is great. didn't have any "logic" problems with it. i just didn't feel the emotional connection that GDT clearly wanted me to feel between these two characters.

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            • #7
              Re: The Shape of Water

              I'm no fanboy of Guillermo del Toro, and I don't lean towards the mystical-magical genre.I went fully prepared to dislike this film.

              I did not.

              I found it lovely and somehow fell under its spell. Despite the fact that I found the monster horribly ugly, and both leads didn't speak, the movie connected with me... I was caught me off guard as the movie spoke to some inner emotion I didn't know I had, tbh.

              To me, the most interesting and compelling thing about the film was how it made me suspend disbelief for 90 minutes to believe this insane love story. I had a friend mention to me "I heard it's a monster movie," and I oddly got rather defensive. I'm still marveling at how moving I found this crazy movie!

              (Of COURSE I didn't get the scars-mermaid connection, Darthclaw. I shudder to think of all the stuff I miss or don't get.)

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              • #8
                Re: The Shape of Water

                Saw this on New Year's Day. Left thinking it may have been as good or better as an animation film rather than its current state of wonderful, beautiful cinematography combined with fairytale storytelling.

                SPOILERS:

                1. I do agree with some others here that not enough clues were given to associate Elisa with her water heritage. Bathtub masturbation and marveling at raindrops on a window are two very human things and didn't offer enough to make me associate her foundling story with her aquatic tendencies or heritage.

                2. The fantasy dance scene convinces one she is in love with the creature, but as others here have made allusion, there's no compelling reason as to why she ought to fall in love with such a being. In that scene also, the rubber suit is almost comical with its obvious swells and folds of rubber. It was a good editing choice to spotlight Elisa and exclude the creature in darkness in that scene.

                3. Also, there's the added obstacle of her station versus the classified nature of the project that seems illogical for her to undertake the saving of the creature.

                At the movies, I take a seat in a back row as near under the projector as possible for the most complete viewing experience for myself (and better peripheral views of the screen action, too).

                The extra advantage of this is to remain seated at movie's end and hear moviegoer comments and opinions on what they just saw happen on screen.

                Behavioral clues are telling, and many included a shrug or sigh when their cohorts and companions had asked them (apparently) what they thought of the film. Many seemed resigned to say they liked it, but with some hesitation, as though they wanted to stop short of endorsing a physical romance between a woman and a man-fish.

                My speculation is that if it had not been a fantasy but a movie with a more serious tone and a “this-really-happened” atmosphere to it, they might have dismissed it as less enjoyable.
                “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

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                • #9
                  Re: The Shape of Water

                  Originally posted by Darthclaw13 View Post


                  Spoilers below.....







                  Did everyone who saw this realize early on that she was a mermaid and the "scars" on her neck were under-used gills?
                  Nope, I assumed the creature turned her scars into gills, seeing as he could heal people and regrow their hair, etc.

                  And, seeing as the guy was narrating the ending and speculating what had happened to her, this was just his fantasy anyway?

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                  • #10
                    Re: The Shape of Water

                    The pacing was done very well, I think, which shows in the script beat-for-beat. And it certainly explored its concept thoroughly.

                    I'm sure releasing it around Valentines day was an appropriate and interesting choice as well.

                    Originally posted by SBdeb View Post
                    I'm no fanboy of Guillermo del Toro, and I don't lean towards the mystical-magical genre.I went fully prepared to dislike this film.

                    I did not.

                    I found it lovely and somehow fell under its spell. Despite the fact that I found the monster horribly ugly, and both leads didn't speak, the movie connected with me... I was caught me off guard as the movie spoke to some inner emotion I didn't know I had, tbh.

                    To me, the most interesting and compelling thing about the film was how it made me suspend disbelief for 90 minutes to believe this insane love story. I had a friend mention to me "I heard it's a monster movie," and I oddly got rather defensive. I'm still marveling at how moving I found this crazy movie!

                    (Of COURSE I didn't get the scars-mermaid connection, Darthclaw. I shudder to think of all the stuff I miss or don't get.)

                    Comment

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