THE SHAPE OF WATER SHAPES UP

By: Olivia Hershey
Editor of Style/Entertainment
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   As the Oscars quickly approach, movie fans are flocking to theaters to see this year’s nominated pictures. The most-nominated film of this year is Guillermo Del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” nominated for 13 possible awards, including Best Original Score, Best Lead Actress, and, the one everyone will be waiting for, Best Picture.

   The movie is set in 1950’s Baltimore, Maryland. The main character, Eliza, is a mute cleaning person at a government lab in the midst of the Cold War. The government lab contains an amphibious creature from South America. Eliza soon forms a bond with the creature and determines to help it escape. The story is filled with rich character development and social commentary. 
   Del Toro is a director who is not afraid to take risks, choosing a green color scheme for the film, which creates an unattractive atmosphere, inviting the viewer to feel disgust. The score, written by Alexandre Desplat, fills the movie’s universe, beautifully and effortlessly capturing the emotions of the characters. The film is dripping with fantastic special effects makeup work, from the creature’s appearance to the main antagonist’s injuries. The costuming wraps the actors and actresses in the era in which they are portrayed perfectly. 
   From beginning to end, the movie is visually stunning and the score transports viewers to another place and time. Del Toro shocks the audience with twists and turns, while maintaining character personalities and establishing a unique film universe.