The Shape of Water (2017) (81%)
I had high expectations going into The Shape of Water following the slew award nominations that it received. And, unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to them. It's a visually stunning film; there's no doubt about that. And Guillermo del Toro once again proved that he is a great director (and possibly the best when it comes to monster movies), but the story was ultimately disappointing to me. It was extremely simple and didn't have a whole lot of depth to it. Yes, it's interesting to see a woman fall in love with a non-human being, but take away the fact that it wasn't human and it was not a a very far throw away from a typical love story. At the same time, the slightly lackluster story doesn't take away from some incredible performances in this film, from Sally Hawkins to Michael Shannon...they are all fantastic. But, I still can't get this film to a B+ or an A simply because the story just didn't do it for me. And I'm incredibly disappointed to say that.
I had high expectations going into The Shape of Water following the slew award nominations that it received. And, unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to them. It's a visually stunning film; there's no doubt about that. And Guillermo del Toro once again proved that he is a great director (and possibly the best when it comes to monster movies), but the story was ultimately disappointing to me. It was extremely simple and didn't have a whole lot of depth to it. Yes, it's interesting to see a woman fall in love with a non-human being, but take away the fact that it wasn't human and it was not a a very far throw away from a typical love story. At the same time, the slightly lackluster story doesn't take away from some incredible performances in this film, from Sally Hawkins to Michael Shannon...they are all fantastic. But, I still can't get this film to a B+ or an A simply because the story just didn't do it for me. And I'm incredibly disappointed to say that.