Push Admin

Movie review: Mesmerizing monster romance 'Shape of Water' embraces outsiders

Article (news)

Vincent Garcia, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/02/21/shapeofwater-4.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Sally Hawkins&#x27;s Eliza strikes an unlikely relationship with a fish man portrayed by Doug Jones. <em>20th Century Fox</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- An ode to the ignored and invisible in society, the elegant fable &quot;The Shape of Water&quot; follows Eliza (Sally Hakwins), a mute woman who works as a nighttime cleaner at a top-secret government facility in America. </p><p>She strikes an improbable romance with a sinewy fish man (Doug Jones), revered as a god before being captured and taken in for experimentation. She shares with him hard boiled eggs, teaches him sign language, and introduces him to the beauty of music. </p><p>Buoyed by her lonely feelings and fantasies driven by water, Eliza then tries to do the good thing and comes up with a plan to free the incarcerated creature in this bizarre love story for the oppressed and silenced. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/01/23/18/full-list-oscar-nominations-2018">FULL LIST: Oscar nominations 2018</a></li></ul><p>The movie is set in the 1960s, but Guillermo del Toro&#x27;s newest Oscar-nominated war-era fantasy might as well be speaking about today&#x27;s issues. This is a tale concerned with giving the &quot;othered&quot; a voice and a middle finger to the arrogant powers that determine —based on outdated, conservative views— who gets an opinion or not. It will surely resonate to those willing to listen. </p><div class="media-content"><div class="slider-for"><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/02/21/shapeofwater-1.jpg?ext=.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/02/21/shapeofwater-2.jpg?ext=.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/02/21/shapeofwater-3.jpg?ext=.jpg"/></div></div><div class="media-content slider-desc"><div class="item-desc"><p>Scenes from &#x27;Shape of Water&#x27; that shows Sally Hawkins with her co-stars Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, and Michael Shannon. <cite>20th Century Fox</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Scenes from &#x27;Shape of Water&#x27; that shows Sally Hawkins with her co-stars Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, and Michael Shannon. <cite>20th Century Fox</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Scenes from &#x27;Shape of Water&#x27; that shows Sally Hawkins with her co-stars Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, and Michael Shannon. <cite>20th Century Fox</cite></p></div></div></div><p>Hawkins’s beautifully deep expressions will leave you rooting for her story to end in love rather than loss. Ensuring that, she’s flanked by other outsiders like Giles (Richard Jenkins), our heroine’s neighbor, an artist with a balding head who yearns for a waiter at a nearby pie store, and Zelda (Octavia Spencer), her motherly, black co-worker. </p><p>Strickland (Michael Shannon) is the other monster of the film, who, unlike Eliza, only sees the fish man as an “affront” to his religious ideologies. He insists that it should be tortured and picked apart —driving home the point that while humanity can be found in monstrosity, the inverse is sadly true as well. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dqruH1Q4rEM?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>&quot;Shape of Water&quot; is already showing in cinemas nationwide. </p>

<p>An ode to the ignored and invisible in society, this elegant fable follows Eliza (Sally Hakwins), a mute woman who works as a nighttime cleaner at a top-secret government facility in America. </p>

An ode to the ignored and invisible in society, this elegant fable follows Eliza (Sally Hakwins), a mute woman who works as a nighttime cleaner at a top-secret government facility in America.

Movie review: Mesmerizing monster romance 'Shape of Water' embraces outsiders

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Lifestyle

Movie review: Mesmerizing monster romance 'Shape of Water' embraces outsiders

Vincent Garcia,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 21, 2018 05:00 PM PHT

Read More:

The Shape of Water

Guillermo del Toro

Sally Hawkins

Doug Jones

Oscars

movie review

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.