 Hey guys, here's my review for The Shape of Water, a film directed by Gimela del Toro. A film that I was actually kind of very much looking forward to because I still have a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth after Crimson Peaks. That was my attempt at sign language. I looked it up. I apologize. I couldn't find the translation for the And so I apologize for that. But otherwise, I actually really like this movie. Del Toro is always known for fantastically visual films. He also is always known for very intriguing characters. This film is basically kind of like a quasi-sequel, but not really a more of an homage prequel to the character of Ape Sapien in the Hellboy movies as there is a creature who is Amphibian who can walk both on land and in water and just so happens to like eggs. But either way this film is actually very good. It does follow a little bit of stereotypes of Del Toro's previous works, but the thing I will also say is this is some of the best character writing he's ever done. Sally Hawkins is fantastic as her character. The fact that she is a mute does not hinder her at all in character development or expressing emotion. So one of the things I've always loved about watching people who do ASL is that there's no words physically are vocally being spoken, but there's so much emotion that can be conveyed just in how people move their hands and their faces how they express it. Richard Langleder, who I originally thought was like going to be her father or something in this film, he's not. He's actually a completely very unique character. The film takes place in the 50s and his character is a quite an interesting sort of situation as he is a closet gay who wears a toupee and he's an artist and what is so interesting about this movie is that there are instances of racial profiling or just racism with Octavia Spencer's character and other people as well as there is obviously the homophobia towards Richard Langleder's character. And the thing that I liked about it is it wasn't there more so as a statement, but it's just how the characters are written. And I like that so much. It's because I understand when political statements are being said, but Del Toro isn't really trying to say that. He's just giving us really good characters. And of course Michael Shannon wins the award for creepy motherfucker of the year again. Holy shit. He is so creepy in this movie, but he's so intriguing. His dialogue is full of such bigotry but you can't help but be somewhat interested in how he's going to handle things because the man just does not want to quit. And as the film is moving towards its conclusion, you can't really help but think he's committed, that's for sure. Really, he's a fantastic antagonist in this film. Just his interactions with Sally Hawkins and the rest of the cast is just so unnerving. He is absolutely horrifying. It's like if Buffalo Bill got to be the head of security, but he wasn't a murderer. At least you knew about it anyways. But there are certain scenes that are incredibly disturbing and very uncomfortable, but some of the best ones, in terms of just character development, as well as just like, wow, I can't believe they did that. Speaking of which, the opening of this movie, I admit my eyebrows were raised because we see Sally Hawkins go through her normal routine and then she goes into the bathtub and has a little bit of her time. And they just kind of nonchalantly go over that and it's her routine. They repeat it again later. It's like, oh, okay. That's another thing I like about what Del Toro does with this movie is he doesn't care about this stuff. He just like shows it like it's a regular day. And I thought that was great. Again, not forced. It's just there. And again, that's why I like these characters so much. They feel real. They don't feel like stereotypes. They don't feel like people who are there for a message or a statement, they are just very well written. The creature is pretty cool too. The relationship between him and Sally Hawkins is very endearing, if not just a little bit weird. But it's really cool to watch two people come together in a way that they can only express to themselves. The music is fantastic. Alexander DuPas, if I'm saying that correctly, does a fantastic job with the soundtrack. There's also a lot of classic songs from the 40s and 50s that are played, which is just fantastic. Del Toro basically makes a love letter to the 50s with this movie. But he does slightly veer into kind of the stereotype of Del Toro's writing. Mainly the last 20 minutes I was able to basically call play by play. While his movies are dark and always kind of have a sad but slightly happy ending, I still enjoyed it. I think it is definitely one of his best movies that he's ever done. And it's a film that should be watched. It's pretty ballsy for some of the stuff that it just nonchalantly goes over. So I enjoy that. I appreciate that. And I feel a lot better now. I was really kind of about Crimson Peak because that movie sucked in my opinion. But this was much more enjoyable. This was very engaging. The characters, some of the best characters I've seen in film in a long time. Richard Lanklider kills it. Sally Hawkins kills it. Michael Shadding kills it. Almost literally. And I just really enjoyed this movie. So in the end, I'm going to give The Shape of Water a 6 out of 7. It's definitely one of the best movies of the year. I can't believe that. Both Molly's Game and Shape of Water. Back and back. Anyways guys, if you like this video, leave a like down below. And if you want, maybe subscribe. Anyways, I'll see you guys next time.