‘The Danish Girl’
Reading Time: 2 minutes
What a complex, original and unpredictable fantasy drama. We can’t stop thinking about it, so we continue to discuss its many threads and attractions.
Awarded this year’s Best Picture Academy Award, ‘The Shape of Water’ is set in 1962 and tells the story of Eliza, a mute young woman, played perfectly by Sally Hawkins, who is a cleaner in a secret American scientific laboratory. Her workplace friend is Zelda, an African-American woman, played as superbly as ever, by previous Academy Award winning actor Octavia Spencer, of ‘Hidden Figures’ fame. The two become aware of a badly treated amphibian creature brought to the I lab from South America, that/whom Eliza befriends.
To reveal more of the story would spoil the enjoyment of the film. What I am willing to say is that unlike some recent fantasy and superhero films, ‘The Shape of Water’ has much to offer our lives in the real world, and does so with adept subtlety. It successfully manages to present Cold War espionage in a humorous, violent, sinister and yet humane manner. It applauds the heroism of those willing to stand up to bullying controllers, knowing that to do so will most likely require them to pay the ultimate price. The ‘acceptance of others as they are’ is highlighted as central, unique and essential to being able to forge true and lasting relationships. Eliza’s eccentric neighbour, Giles, portrayed so entertainingly by Richard Jenkins, plays a key role in exploring and illustrating these themes.
The film has comedy, suspense, love, violence, cure for baldness, intrigue, and above all a pervasive sensuality, aided in no small measure by the sizzling nudity and teasing prologues to sex.
Finally, the stylized architecture, clothing, cars, interior décor and gadgetry of the early 1960s add an elegant, nostalgic touch to a classy cinematic experience of a cinematic story that you quickly forget is a fantasy but continue to dwell on afterwards.
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