Movie Review: The Shape of Water

Let me get straight to the point: I genuinely didn't care much about The Shape of Water. Don't get me wrong. The film was solid on most sides of the spectrum. The direction was sharp, the cinematography and character design were stunning, the visuals and musical score served the story extremely well, and the acting of Sally Hawkins and Richard Jenkins were quite breathtaking. Yet, I was still terribly underwhelmed. Michael Shannon's character had the typical villain archetype that was overtly in your face and came off a tad too predictable and generic. There was also an emotional disconnect as I somehow couldn't identify with any of the characters and the unnecessary subplots took away from the main narrative and it almost pulled me out of the film. Plus, I didn't really buy the romance. As well put together as this was given the grand and fantastical spectacle that it exuded, The Shape of Water left me cold when it could've been an emotionally resonant piece of cinema.