168.
The Shape of Water.
6.5/10
This was the Odeon Screen Unseen and even with the clues, I had no idea what I was going in to watch. The trailers that I had seen, hadn't really given anything away for the movie but it was winning plaudits from all angles, along with nominations for some of the biggest movie awards around. Set in the 60's this movie seemed to be focused around an amphibious creature, that is being helped to escape from a facility. Guillermo del Toro, puts his name to a film labelled as romance, which I'm oddly curious to see where that comes from. Will this be a movie that will sink or swim?
This movie, if described using a water analogy, would be a decent front crawl at best, but was never going to win the swimming race for me. It had a good cast of, Michael Shannon, as the bad guy and with a face only a mother could love, it's safe to see why he fitted the bill. Sally Hawkins plays a janitor who falls in love with an amphibian 'man' and although she is mute, she teaches him sign language, to cross over the first boundary. It is explained in the movie, how she was found at a river bed, with some pretty bad scratches along each side of her neck and I'm instantly thinking, could those be gills? As the movie progresses and she gets the help from her neighbour about the escape and hiding of the creature, the plan goes pretty well, even though her work friend thinks something is up and investigates, only to help with the final cover-up. We always know which way this story is going to go and it's just the process of getting there. As it carries on, Sally Hawkins' character ends up hiding the 'man' in her bath tub, until the tide rises in the docks and the amphibian can be released.
Michael Shannon is now in the middle of playing a man possessed and obsessed with finding the escapee. Elisa, Hawkins' character, has decided a drop her dressing gown for her new love and this scaled man duly accepts her offer. Later, she even foods her bathroom so that they can be together under the water. It obviously will never be plain sailing, as at one point, this guy eats the cat and legs it when being told off. He seems to have this power, that can heal people, as he cuts a man with his claws and then does some glowing thing to speed up the recovery, so it isn't too hard to see why he was of such an interest to the government, with some calling him and worshipping him as a sort of god.
The movie finally draws to close, when the group think they are in the clear but after Shannon's character searches Elisa's place, to see the calendar describe her plan for release. As they are down the dock, Strickland, played by Shannon, ends up shooting the creature and Elisa in the back, just as they are saying their goodbyes. Walking away in victory, he doesn't expect the creature to heal itself and slice his throat. He then takes Elisa into the water, after bringing her back to life, which opens up her gills and I guess they are ready to start their life together under the sea.
The look, feel and musical score to this movie screaming the computer game, Bioshock. An old, gloomy feel with lots of water, depressing colours and shades of green. This along with the music that comes straight out of a phonograph horn, takes me back to my favourite console game but unfortunately, this was far from my favourite movie. It was a very predictable movie at times, apart from the shooting at the end, which reminded me of another del Toro film and the end of Pan's Labyrinth. I didn't expect this to be as much of a romantic movie as it was and for a random musical score in the middle, as a mute mimes a love song, it just seemed very strange at times. It easy to see how many people love this movie and how many awards it's been nominated for but it was a forgettable experience for me. Even the sub-plots pointed towards romance, with only one out of three relationships ending with togetherness. If I had to describe this movie, it would be Free Willy, if Jesse had slept with the whale. Just as that story, there was a plan, an escape, trying to persuade people to help out and a release. This just wasn't as memorable for me.
Michael Shannon is now in the middle of playing a man possessed and obsessed with finding the escapee. Elisa, Hawkins' character, has decided a drop her dressing gown for her new love and this scaled man duly accepts her offer. Later, she even foods her bathroom so that they can be together under the water. It obviously will never be plain sailing, as at one point, this guy eats the cat and legs it when being told off. He seems to have this power, that can heal people, as he cuts a man with his claws and then does some glowing thing to speed up the recovery, so it isn't too hard to see why he was of such an interest to the government, with some calling him and worshipping him as a sort of god.
The movie finally draws to close, when the group think they are in the clear but after Shannon's character searches Elisa's place, to see the calendar describe her plan for release. As they are down the dock, Strickland, played by Shannon, ends up shooting the creature and Elisa in the back, just as they are saying their goodbyes. Walking away in victory, he doesn't expect the creature to heal itself and slice his throat. He then takes Elisa into the water, after bringing her back to life, which opens up her gills and I guess they are ready to start their life together under the sea.
The look, feel and musical score to this movie screaming the computer game, Bioshock. An old, gloomy feel with lots of water, depressing colours and shades of green. This along with the music that comes straight out of a phonograph horn, takes me back to my favourite console game but unfortunately, this was far from my favourite movie. It was a very predictable movie at times, apart from the shooting at the end, which reminded me of another del Toro film and the end of Pan's Labyrinth. I didn't expect this to be as much of a romantic movie as it was and for a random musical score in the middle, as a mute mimes a love song, it just seemed very strange at times. It easy to see how many people love this movie and how many awards it's been nominated for but it was a forgettable experience for me. Even the sub-plots pointed towards romance, with only one out of three relationships ending with togetherness. If I had to describe this movie, it would be Free Willy, if Jesse had slept with the whale. Just as that story, there was a plan, an escape, trying to persuade people to help out and a release. This just wasn't as memorable for me.
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