Another Oscar Contender

Tonight we ventured to see The Shape of Water at the cinema in Malton. Having seen previous Guillermo del Toro films I was prepared that this would not be a run of the mill cinema experience. The question was would it eclipse the other Oscar contenders that we had seen?

While I was not disappointed it was certainly striking. It was visually sumptuous and the cinematographic detail was stunning. I thought that it had all the subtlety that The Post did not have. It made its points with clarity without signposting them or ramming them down the viewers throat. The evocation of early 1960’s USA was impressive, particularly the way it contrasted with the flife of the heroine.

I am sure you can envisage a but coming here, the basic story line was very challenging for some one who is not a lover of either science fiction or fairy tales. That said I think that it absolutely worked. I think that the love story was touchingly portrayed, and I was able to suspend my belief.

Significantly when we went to the pub after it provoked a huge amount of discussion, which of course is the sign of a good film. Where does it stand in my Oscar standings, well the more I think about it The Post seems to be a narrow film that misses the enormity of the subject it was dealing with. Three Billboards on the other hand has remained with me as a moving film. I think that the Shape of Water is a wildcard, it is not a mainstream film but…….