Because it is a movie, the Feds plan to murder and dissect their Aquaman prize. Sally, who has developed a romantic relationship with the creature, arranges an escape, with the help of Zelda, Hoffstetler, and Giles. Aquaman now lives in Sally's bathtub, with plans for it to flee via the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, Hoffstetler is hunting down the creature, leading to an inevitable confrontation involving our six leads at the gulf.
How others will see it. Critics and cinemaphiles alike were wowed by Pan's Labyrinth, previously the most famous film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro. Thus, they were receptive to The Shape of Water. Its solid box office success was due mostly to its triumphs on the festival circuit, including a whopping 13 Academy Award nominations. It took home four Oscars, most notably Best Picture and Best Director.
At imdb.com, the film has a huge 207K user votes, but the user rating of 7.4 is somewhat lower than expected, given its acclaim. The highest ratings come from males under 18 (8.3) and women over 45 (7.7). The former are interested in the sci-fi drama, while the latter enjoy the romance.
Unsurprisingly, the user reviews reveal an intense undercurrent of contempt for the film, with one viewer calling it the "worst movie of my lifetime," apparently having been born before the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978). After wading through pages of angry comments, positive reviews finally emerge, e.g. "an eye-catching drop-dead gorgeous masterpiece."
How I felt about it. The Shape of Water purports to be many things: an historical drama, a thriller, a statement about humanity, a romance, an art film. I see it differently, as a comedy. Once regarded as such, it is no longer absurd, and no longer romantic.
The film asks, what would you do if confronted with something amazing? The general wants to destroy it, the scientist wants to study it, the artist wants to paint it, and the woman wants to love it. Their reactions are stereotypical and predictable. The only normal reaction comes from Zelda, who is indifferent to it, and far more concerned about keeping her job and staying out of trouble. She helps save it only because of her friendship with Sally.
The film also expresses sympathy for minorities, where they are humanoid, black, gay, handicapped, or Soviet. Instead, the sadistic villain is a straight white man with a normal, loving nuclear family.
A surprising number of del Toro's films feature supernatural humanoids. It is his schtick, like samurai movies were for Kurusawa, or "wrong man" murders were for Hitchcock. It is nice that the Creature from the Black Lagoon has evolved, from the rapists of Humanoids from the Deep (1980) to the jazz fan from the present flick. Perhaps the next step will have them become jazz musicians, and put out records that will displace the endless parade of hip-hop atop the Billboard charts. We can only hope.