Ultimately, love transcends all forms…
From writer/director Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water is truly his magnum opus as we get a piece of cinema that transcends genre giving us something that allows the monsters in all of us to embrace what we need and what makes us truly human.
Set in the backdrop of the cold war in a secret research facility during the 1960’s, we meet Elisa (Sally Hawkins) who works as a janitor and lives a lonely yet dull life as a mute with her best friend and neighbour Giles (Richard Jenkins) and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) that is until everything changes. A gruff and mysterious agent (Michael Shannon) joins them at their facility, in charge of a mysterious amphibious creature (Doug Jones) who’s being held in captivity for study who forms a remarkable bond with Elisa.
In a tender love letter to the creature features that he grew up with; del Toro paints a beautiful yarn of love and acceptance while still keeping us in the shadows with those things that go bump in the night. Filled with atmosphere and dripping with mood that transcends not only the emotional but the social as well in a time period that was riddled with conflict and mistrust.
Sally Hawkins provides us a master class in acting without saying a word in a performance that just goes to show you don’t need to say a word to pack a punch. The Shape of Water lets this love soar.
David Voigt is a Toronto based writer with a problem and a passion for the moving image and all things cinema. Having moved from production to the critical side of the aisle for well over 15 years now at outlets like Examiner.com, Criticize This, Dork Shelf (Now That Shelf), and to.Night Newspaper.
He’s been all across the continent; serving on the FIPRESCI Jury at the Festival Du Nouveau Cinema in Montreal, covering festivals out side of Toronto like Calgary Underground Film Festival, CUFF Docs, Slamdance, Fantasia, SXSW, DOC NYC, Santa Barbara Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival and many others
However, In the uncertain world of modern film journalism, David also knew that he needed to have a hand in writing and cementing his own contributions on the global film scene.
Having eclipsed the 10 year anniversary of his own outlet, In The Seats, where he’s been striving to support film (and TV) from all walks of life and his podcast “In The Seats With…” where after 5 & ½ years and over 750 episodes he’s talked with a wide variety of filmmakers, actors, behind the scenes artisans and so much more on the art of storytelling for the screen, which is spawning the launch of a new show in the Spring of 2026. “ITS: Soundtracks” will focus on the use of soundtrack and score in film which he believes is a combination that is the cinematic equivalent of Peanut Butter and Chocolate.
All this as well as hosting and moderating a variety of big screen events around the city, covering film in all its forms is just a way of life for him.
