Guillermo Del Toro has always been experimenting what can be done and expressed through cinema for quite some time. With such astounding films such as The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth, he has shown himself as a true cinematic visionary that truly cares about his craft. And never before has this been clear than with his new feature film, The Shape Of Water, best described by Guillermo himself, “a fairy tale for troubled times.”

To finish the year of 2017, Guillermo Del Toro has delivered his absolute best film to date. This movie has it all in terms of incredible visuals, exquisite character writing, and a fully realized world packed with personality.  This is a true triumph of storytelling that has already gotten massive acclaim from both audiences and critics alike.

The characters are extremely well written and each actor brings there “A” game. Sally Hawkins plays the main character of Eliza, and she absolutely owns this role. What makes her stand out from many protagonists in movies like this is that her character is actually mute throughout and she has to use American Sign Language to communicate.

Both Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer give the main character good company while presenting characters with their own strengths and weaknesses. Doug Jones is absolutely extraordinary as the fish man and performs in a fish body suit using both body language and facial reactions to sell this character; but Micheal Shannon was the real standout as he gives a unique twist on a villain role in quite a while. The cast was absolutely incredible and brought this fantastic script to life.

The production design along with the writing and direction by Guillermo Del Toro, creates a world that is absolutely beautiful. How the world is created and presented through the sets, costume design and overall cinematography is impressive. Del Toro brings an energy and sophistication to these sets, allowing the characters interact with it. The script is on par with the world created here as it deals with issues from the 1960’s that were ever so present and beautify combined them with the story. From both a visually and narrative level, the movie was mind blowing from the beginning the to very end.

The Shape Of Water is an absolute brilliant piece of cinema. This should be a serious contender for many Oscars coming this season. Go see this as soon as you can, and you will have an amazing experience watching it.