Creatures of War #27: The Shape of Water (2017)

Fish-Man <3

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The rats: dead

My walls: filled with dead rats

My apartment: borderline unhabitable due to the smell of rotting (huge) rats in the walls¹

Romance

Ladies, is this the man of your dreams?

Like many of the Guillermo del Toro uninitiated, I did not expect a film about a woman in love with a fish-man to win Best Picture. At the time, I had not seen a del Toro movie and still considered myself to have good taste in film.² A movie about a fish-man winning over Dunkirk (mind you, I had not seen Dunkirk)??? This is the death of cinema! Once I finally got over my shock and horror, I mustered up the courage to actually watch Shape of Water. Oh, how stupid my first impression was. Shape of Water is not just a movie about a woman and a fish-man, no, it is a beautiful, romantic, incredibly human, original movie about a woman and a fish-man, and I adore it.

The romance in Shape of Water is certainly unusual, but it’s played out in a way that doesn’t feel all that strange. Elisa and the fish-man just get each other. Elisa, who is mute, would usually be presented as some sort of outsider, and maybe she is, but she has a confidence air about her that is not indicative of someone outcast. Sure, she is different, but she is very sure of herself. She finds a kinship in the fish-man, not because they are both potential social outcasts, but because they are simply cut from the same cloth. I mean, they both love boiled eggs. They really and truly just match each other. Other relationships in the movie are presented similarly. Elisa’s co-worker and friend Zelda complains about her husband frequently. He’s lazy, he can’t take care of himself, he’s stupid. Despite these complaints, it is overwhelmingly clear that Zelda still loves him. She often refers to him as “my Brewster”. We don’t see a lot of their relationship on screen, but for a couple that seems like perhaps they would not work, it’s obvious that they still do. Elisa’s friend Giles is gay and attempts to pursue a romantic connection with a man who works at a diner. Giles dislikes the pies, but stomachs them for the company of the young man. Giles puts himself out there, but is rejected as the young man is homophobic and racist. Some differences can be overcome for love, but there will always be insurmountable differences that cannot be ignored. Woman and fish-man = sure why the hell not? Nice man and vile bigot = it will never work.

I am unlucky in romance. Lately, I’ve been feeling angsty about it and confided in a friend who is in a similar situation. We are both women with merits³, perfectly fine looks and personalities, friendly, and have good jobs. So why, then, do men seem to avoid us? My friend offered an explanation that at first I was doubtful of, but I am now coming around to: “Emma, you just seem happy alone”. Apparently, to friends, family, and the outside world, I appear not to want a relationship. In many ways, this is very much the truth. I don’t want to get married, and I don’t want some man in my (rat-filled) house. I want to watch the movies I want, go where I’d like at the drop of a hat, and sleep sprawled out in my own bed without the fear of elbowing someone in the face. However, there are moments where I look at a wedding ring and think maybe I’d like one. Or maybe I’d like some company at the movie theater. Or maybe it would be nice to live with someone, to cook with them, to wake up with someone. I think I’ve boiled it down to the root cause: I don’t want a relationship right now, but I’d like someone to just understand me. I’d like to know that there is another metaphorical fish-man in the sea who would share some common interests and introduce me to new ones. To leave me alone when I wish. To just get me, and for me to just get them. Over the past year, I’ve met a few people who I think understand me, even just platonically. While I still don’t think I’m ready for anything serious, I’m starting to understand that there are people out there for me; I just have to be open to it. Being secure alone is wonderful, but I’m potentially using that security as a shield instead of a blanket.

Cold Wars

Shape of Water is, in fact, a weird war movie. The Cold War is a great setting for The Shape of Water as it plays into the central theme of “otherness”. The fear of communism, the fear of western influence, the fear of something different. The concept of a human connection rising above our differences. Idealic, unattainable.

I remember learning about the Cold War in school and thinking, well, that doesn’t seem so bad. No one was actually fighting; how is that a war? Of course my middle-class American middle-school brain had a hard time wrapping itself around the threat of war. I had never directly experienced anything like that. I now find myself afraid of nuclear war. Potentially, this is an extreme reaction, but I am still scared all the same. The man who holds the key to our weapons plays too fast and loose with rules for me to be confident he wouldn’t just nuke someone for the hell of it. This is not the Cold War again, but I’m experiencing a tiny sliver of what I think it would be like to be alive during it. The reality is, no one is gonna nuke the US, and hopefully, no one is going to nuke anyone. That doesn’t mean things are alright. Iran, Russia, Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Thailand, Cambodia, you name it, it’s burning. That’s scary enough, no nukes needed.

I am sadly lacking in Cold War movie recommendations, but I have a few. I am overdue for a rewatch of The Iron Giant (1999). Shape of Water is the romantic, weird war movie of my dreams, but anyone who has seen The Iron Giant knows that there isn’t a film in the world that could replicate the same feeling. I can’t speak of Cold War movies without praising it eternally. I am also fond of Sputnik (2020), October Sky (1999), X-Men First Class (2011), and The Flight That Disappeared (1961).

That’s All Folks

If you’ve been putting off watching a movie about a women in love with a fish-man, this is your sign. Here are some other movies about women in love with weird creatures:

• Warm Bodies (2013)

• Bride of Re-Animator (1990)

• 50 First Dates (2004) - Adam Sandler is the weird creature in this

1. Let it be known that it was not my idea to use poison; the landlord did it. I’m upset about it.

2. This has long been dispelled, never fear

3. Why am I describing us like we are Jane Austen characters?