Director
Guillermo del Toro
Leading Actors/Actresses
Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, and Michael Shannon
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Richard Jenkins and Doug Jones
Genre
Romantic Fantasy
Language
English
Awards
Won Academy Awards for: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Score, Best Production Design. Nominated for: Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Editing
Date of Release
December 1, 2017
Producer
Guillermo del Toro and J. Miles Dale
Setting and Context
1960s Baltimore, Maryland
Narrator and Point of View
From the point of view of the mute main character Elisa Esposito
Tone and Mood
Romantic, Brooding, Monochromatic, Forbidden, Heartfelt, Erotic, Moody, Noir-esque, Dark
Protagonist and Antagonist
Elisa vs. Richard Strickland
Major Conflict
The conflict between Elisa and the U.S. government (represented by Strickland), with Elisa wanting to treat the amphibian fairly and the government wanting to exploit and kill it
Climax
The climax occurs when Elisa, Giles, and the creature are confronted by Strickland on the docks.
Foreshadowing
When Elisa gives the creature eggs, it foreshadows her eventual friendship—and relationship—with the creature
Understatement
The harsh treatment of the creature by the facility employees is consistently understated.
How rare the creature is was understated quite often in the movie.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
Originally, The Shape of Water was set to be shot on black and white film. However, it was not due to budgetary concerns.
While the film is beautifully shot, there are no innovations in filming or lighting or camera techniques.
Allusions
Allusions to history (especially the Cold War), popular films (especially Beauty and the Beast), to popular culture, previous films of the director, to actors, to sports, to personal experience, and to the struggles of gays and other such maligned groups in the 1960s.
Paradox
This is a monster movie, but the real monster in the film is not the odd sea creature but Strickland, a straight-laced, upwardly mobile man who has a wife, two children, and a cute suburban home.
Parallelism
The story recalls the animated and live action film versions of Beauty and the Beast
