The Shape of Water: A Monster of a Love Story
I have trouble deciding which Guillermo del Toro’s films are my favorite, but I usually place 2017’s The Shape of Water near the top of the list. Outside of his typical flourishes, the central romance between the Amphibian Man and Elisa sticks with me after each time I rewatch it. While many monster films may tease the possibility of a liaison between the beast and the heroine, their endings usually promote heteronormativity and dismiss anything that derides or perverts it. Yes, The Gill-Man from Creature of the Black Lagoon desires to be with Kay; it’s ultimately not achieved since David and the other men need to save her and murder the creature. The love between Elisa and the Amphibian Man instead subverts and queers that heteronormativity and promotes another option. Instead of the traditional love story saving the day, it’s ultimately won between a mute woman and a fish-man.
Guillermo del Toro famously said, “When I was a kid, monsters made me feel that I could fit somewhere, even if it was… an imaginary place where the grotesque and the abnormal were celebrated and accepted.” In his work, monsters are often misunderstood creatures unjustly viewed as monsters by society. Instead, the actual monsters often hold power exist in reality, and exhibit humanity’s more hostile and evil aspects. The true evil lies within humanity and institutions.
The Shape of Water focuses on characters considered others to society in 1962 America: Elisa Esposito, a mute woman; Giles, a closeted gay man; Zelda Fuller, an African American woman; and the Amphibian Man, the “monster.” Within these characters, del Toro critiques the more traditional power systems that lay in charge by making them the story’s heroes. Even Dimitri Mosenkov, a Russian spy, is viewed as a hero since he helps the trio rescue the Amphibian Man from the American government and hides him from his handlers. Instead of othering them, del Toro subverts it by making them the protagonists and offering different points of view that clash and critique that othering. While it can be on the nose, del Toro brings to attention the racism, sexism, and homophobia that occurred during this period. He chooses not to ignore it and has it play a part in his story. Granted, it cannot fully convey the entire experiences of these disenfranchised groups; it can provide a window into them.
The character of Richard Strickland would often be considered the hero in a typical monster film. Being a white middle-class man with a family, a house in the suburbs, and a Cadillac, he presents that ideal American dream that many people hold. Yet, this is not the case in this movie. We, as the viewers, see the total cruelty and evil within his character as he brutally tortures the Amphibian Man, believes and promotes his superiority as a white male, and will not stop at anything to get what he desires or believes he deserves. As a part of the United States government, Strickland traveled to South America to capture the creature and bring him back to America to study it. Instead of viewing the Amphibian Man as human, he sees it as an object that deserves to be learned. After Strickland mentions that the people near the river worshiped the Amphibian Man as a god, he tells Elisa and Zelda, “You may think, ‘That thing looks human.’ Stands on two legs, right? But — we’re created in the Lord’s image. You don’t think that’s what the Lord looks like, do you?” Strickland serves as a proxy to othering’s more abstract and giant evils. He believes that he has a divine right to return the Amphibian Man to general, no matter the cost. He’s only one cog within a giant machine. Interestingly, his grotesque evil becomes physical when his reattached figures slowly decay and rot, eventually leading him to rip them off. At the film’s climax, Strickland’s attempted killing of the Amphibian Man mirrors David and the Gill-Man but differs due to the Amphibian Man killing Strickland.
The central romance between Elisa and the Amphibian-Man serves as the beating and thematic heart of the film. Elisa and the creature exist as outsiders to society which does not recognize their humanity. The nontraditional aspect of the relationship serves as the key here. While the relationship between the pair can be seen as taboo or even perverse, it presents a much more positive and fulfilling alternative than the heteronormative. They understand each other and love each other on a more emotionally and physically intimate level than what is seen between the traditionally heterosexual relationship of Strickland and his wife. Strickland often ignores his wife and prefers to have a more dominant and ruling presence in it where everything is centered around him. Even though Elisa and the Amphibian man cannot physically speak to each other, they find different ways of communicating their developing relationship and love for each other. As a result, their love transcends the typical binaries and helps them see that happy ending.
Finally comes the aspect of queerness within the film. The movie occurs during the Cold War when queerness was viewed as unAmerican and othered. As a gay man, Giles has trouble finding work as an advertising illustrator and someone for a romantic relationship. He actively gets ignored by a local ad agency due to his sexuality and gets banned from a restaurant after misreading and hitting on the male waiter there. Similarly, the Amphibian Man is a queer figure due to not living within the typical binary. He exists outside of it and is othered due to it. Giles and the Amphibian Man become friends outside of his relationship with Elisa due to their shared otherness. The pair feel a similar connection to each other and bond. It’s an unspoken commonality that exists and adds to the queerness of the piece.
I love and relate to The Shape of Water a lot, and it works exceedingly well as a moving piece of art. It’s a beautiful romantic fairy tale that still feels highly relevant to the present. No matter how I often rewatch it, the emotional aspect still hits hard and moves me.
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My review for Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) went live on Slay Away so check that. Also I will be releasing my review of Studio 666 on Slay Away as well.
I will be releasing my review of Fresh (2022) tomorrow. It’s a great horror comedy on Hulu and highly recommend it.
