What ever are we supposed to do while Guillermo Del Toro is on his year-long hiatus from directing?
I have an idea: watch The Shape of Water. A lot.
The unusual, haunting is, and I'm spoiling my review here, one of the best movies of the year and possibly of Del Toro's career. Moody, romantic, and surreal, the film stars Sally Hawkins as a mute woman who falls in love with a merman (played by the great Doug Jones) locked away in a government facility. It's a simply breathtaking movie, with scenes that will cause your heart to swell with awe, fear, and love. Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins, Michael Shannon, and Michael Stuhlbarg co-star.
Here is the official synopsis: From master story teller, Guillermo del Toro, comes THE SHAPE OF WATER – an other-worldly fable, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.
The Shape of Water opens December 1st. Check out the new red band trailer below, unless you want to go in knowing as little as possible. If I have a complaint here it's that a little too much is given away when there is so much to be discovered.
