Shape of Water

[mercurymaze]

No thread for this yet?

Absolutely brilliant film, about a very convincing sea monster.

[LassWiADelicateAir]

I saw it yesterday and saw Lady Bird this afternoon. The Shape of Water was by far the better of the 2. Beautifully acted by all concerned and beautiful to watch.

[boatyardblues]

It was lovely - great story telling. I enjoyed the supporting cast lots, although it took me a while to realise Dr Hoffstetler and Fleming were 2 different people/characters. Richard Jenkins was brilliant, as always. Poor Pandora!

[fusushumi]

I went to see this because I loved & admired Guillermo del Toro's earlier film "Pan's Labyrinth" a great deal and "The Shape of Water" also combined fairy tale elements with darker social/political aspects in the plot. Quite unexpectedly, I was really moved and cried a lot at the ending

[notaflyingmonkey]

I so didn't like it. It was highly recommended by a friend whose judgement I trust(ed). I didn't enjoy it any part of it, but I am heartless though.

Disabled woman can't get a man, so ends up dead/shagging a fish.

Gay man can't get a man, ends up sad and alone (albeit hirsute).

[fusushumi]

boatyardblues who is Pandora? Did I miss something? I don't remember a character with this name

[Lokisglowstickofdestiny]

Wasn't Pandora the cat?

[LassWiADelicateAir]

Pandora was the cat.

Disabled woman can't get a man, so ends up dead/shagging a fish

I think it was being hinted that Elisa was at least part of the same species. She was found abandoned as a baby near water and she had the mysterious wounds on her neck which looked as if child if gills had been removed.

[fusushumi]

Oh yes! As you say, poor Pandora.... and that wasn't the only moment which wasn't for the squeamish!

[fusushumi]

LassWiADelicateAir or gills which had healed up - living on land she wasn't using them (the scientists said about the creature that he had 2 separate breathing systems)

[AlpacaPicnic]

Saw this last night, I thought it was actually quite sweet in places! Loved Octavia Spencer but I'm a little bit worried she's going to end up typecast so I really want to see her do something different next.

I went with a friend who I haven't seen for ages and his new hopeful girlfriend who I haven't met before... so the 'personal' scenes were a tad awkward!

Overall, I enjoyed it, it was different than I was expecting but I stayed awake the whole time which is a really good sign for me

Poor Pandora...

[boatyardblues]

Yes, one of the cats.

[WinstonlovesJulia1984]

notaflyingmonkey I don't think the film was aimed at people as literal-minded as you

[badb]

I just watched this last night. I totally missed the point about her being found abandoned near water, and now the marks on her neck make total sense (I was scratching my head about how they could possibly be related to her mutism). I could have done with less of the romantic/love/sex scenes, but overall I liked it. I thought it was beautifully shot, so gorgeously atmospheric. And I loved Richard Jenkins, and was so sad at him getting dressed up to go to the cafe and all the horrible pies in the fridge.

One slightly sour note for me was Octavia Spencer's character. She is an incredible actor, and I thought, even though the film tried, it never really succeeded in making her into a proper character rather than just a sidekick.

[implantsandaDyson]

I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It was beautifully shot and Richard Jenkins as always was the best thing in it. It felt overlong, overegged. I thought Michael Shannon's character was underused and a bit two dimensional- he was great but let down by lazy writing and characterisation. I felt like I was being hit over the head by the symbolism of it - it was heavy handed with its themes.
I enjoyed it more than it sounds

[Ruffian]

Took DM last week as it had been promoted as a 'magical fantasy', 'charming' and 'beautiful'. We didn't find it any of those things - obviously there was great attention to detail and cinematography but somehow it didn't connect. It was too long, the underlying story was very conventional and the violence upset DM.

Octavia Spencer was wasted. Since there seemed to be some (confused) commentary in the film about Civil Rights wouldn't she have made a better outsider to bond with Fishman?

The mute thing was rendered a bit pointless by the fact that Sally Hawkins' character could hear. Being deaf is far more excluding.

[AaarmadillosWhy]

Didnt like the disabled woman =lonely only hope is a fish message.

[TheQueenOfWands]

Is this the one with Laurie Metcalf in? Been meaning to watch this.

Massively underated actress. Really can do no wrong.

[Kaybush]

Ahh! Thanks for the tip about the baby by the river and 'gills' on the neck - we saw this last night and didn't connect these two.

I did think Ladybird was a better film though - a fraction of the budget but said so much more.

[toffee1000]

TheQueenOfWands No, that’s Lady Bird.

[AaarmadillosWhy]

Thanks for the tip about the baby by the river and 'gills' on the neck - we saw this last night and didn't connect these two.

Commentators have noted that there are other hints that they may be the same species - the masturbating in the bath suggests she is most comfortable expressing her sexuality in water even before he arrives.
The fact she is mute is not related to the scars on her neck but because she is like him and he can't speak either.
Both eat like eating lots of eggs /protein.

[AaarmadillosWhy]

implantsandaDyson

It felt overlong, overegged

Overegged - very good!

[MammaAgata]

I feel embarrassed that I didn’t make the connection with the scars on her neck etc.. now it’s been pointed out it makes perfect sense..