Movie Review
'The Shape of Water' doesn't live up to the hype
Director Guillermo del Toro's latest film is ultimately a disappointingly familiar story wrapped up in some shimmering and often quite breathtaking visuals
Fresh off four wins at this year's Golden Globes, Mexican director Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water arrives on screens with high expectations and plenty of fawning critical praise in its wake.
This is something to be wary of especially as Del Toro hasn't really done much to cement his reputation since Pan's Labyrinth in 2006. There was the overblown blockbuster noise of Pacific Rim, the all-over-the-place horror of his television series The Strain and the sumptuously Gothic styling covering the empty story at the heart of Crimson Peak.
The Shape of Water begins with beautifully dappled lighting, offbeat whimsical voice-over and production design heavily reminiscent of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie. Yet it falters in its sentimental retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fable, set against the backdrop of the Cold War paranoia of the 1960s...
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