The Shape of Water (2017)

Liquid water takes on the shape of the vessel containing it. Because liquid water flows in such a way that it is ever changing and fills spaces, it has been considered to be an apt metaphor to describe love... particularly in the face of discrimination. Guillermo del Toro, the director of the movie, chose this metaphor to weave the love story between a mute cleaning lady in a secret research facility and a male merman-like creature. It was set in the 1960s, when the race to space was hot between the Russians and the Americans; when the USA was segregated by colour (and homosexuality was taboo); when women took on menial jobs in research facilities. The woman fell in love with the merman because it did not recognise her handicap. The merman responded to her generosity and kindness. Ranking military men who were Caucasian were portrayed as intolerant to creatures who looked different from them; who didn't care about the plight of others; who valued output delivery over humanity.

While love blossomed between the woman and the merman, it was also interesting to see how the other characters developed:

The merman's captor's character slowly but steadily decayed. This was symbolised by his severed fingers that have been reattached to his hand. As the movie progressed, his finger started to rot (because the graft did not work)... his character descended into even lower pits of inhumanity. He increasingly excluded his children. His wife, and later the mute woman, was just an object for his desires. His materialism and vanity increased. His life, which steadily became desperate, was ended by the merman... seeking revenge for the hurt he and the woman received from him.

The old man, a neighbour of the mute cleaning lady, evolved from an introspective artist (whose work kept getting rejected by an advertising company) to a bold hero, saving the merman after much cajoling from the mute woman. His unrequited love for the barman at a pub he frequented was unresolved as the movie ended; but I think we can assume that he didn't go back to the bar anymore.

The other cleaning lady, who just kept chatting nonsense throughout their shift at the research facility, was a strong woman who didn't bow down to the white man's insults. The strength she exhibited was further shown in her home situation: she was doing all the work while her husband didn't help in maintaining the house. Perhaps, the husband believed that a woman's place was in the home and was just forced to allow her to work because of financial reasons. Her conscience made her privy to the mute lady's rescue-the-love-of-her-life attempt.

Did I like the film? Sure. It didn't have the fairy tale happily-ever-after ending... though I wasn't expecting it. The Shape of Water is Beauty and the Beast catering to adults, after all. Instead of an Enchanted evening, I saw that the lovers' catharsis was more complex. The pair lived away from prying and judging eyes, under the sea.