"THE SHAPE OF WATER"
(2017) (Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon) (R)
Sci-Fi/Fantasy: A mute cleaning lady develops a unique bond with an intelligent amphibian type creature that's been captured by the U.S. military in the early 1960s.
It's 1962 and Elisa Esposito (SALLY HAWKINS) is a mute cleaning lady who works alongside her friend and coworker, Zelda Fuller (OCTAVIA SPENCER), at a top-secret government facility in Baltimore. They pretty much keep to themselves, which isn't much of a problem for Elisa whose apparent only other friend is Giles (RICHARD JENKINS), a closeted ad artist who lives in the next-door apartment and is trying to get back into the business after losing his last job due to his drinking.
But her attention is drawn to a Creature from the Black Lagoon sort of amphibious being (DOUG JONES) that's been brought to the facility. While Dr. Robert Hoffstetler (MICHAEL STUHLBARG) is interested in examining the creature, government agent Strickland (MICHAEL SHANNON) -- who reports directly to General Hoyt (NICK SEARCY) -- seems more fixated on torturing it for answers, with his work carying over with him when he's back home with his wife, Elaine (LAUREN LEE SMITH).
Unbeknownst to nearly everyone there, a Russian handler, Mihalkov (NIGEL BENNETT), has a double agent working at the facility and they're planning on stealing away the creature or killing it to prevent the Americans from gaining any sort of insider knowledge from interacting with or possibly even dissecting it. The latter doesn't sit well with Elisa who's begun to develop an unusual bond with the creature that she views as an intelligent and kind being rather than a monster like Strickland and others. As everyone makes a play for the creature, Elisa does what she can to protect him.
Kids into "monster" movies might be enticed, as might fans of the director and his work, and anyone in the cast.
For sexual content, graphic nudity, violence and language.