In 1962 Baltimore, Elisa is a mute, was orphaned as a child, found by a river with three slashes across her throat, which had severed her vocal cords and left her unable to speak. The isolated woman who works as a cleaning lady in a secret, high-security government laboratory. When she discovers the lab's top-secret secret — a mysterious, scaled creature from South America living in a water tank — her life is forever changed. Elisa quickly discovers that her new friend's fate and future are in the hands of a hostile government agent and a marine biologist as she forms a unique connection with her new friend. The creature "heals" Elisa, bringing her back to life, and turns her neck scars into gills so that the two of them can live happily ever after underwater, as Giles narrates the final scene.
The film is beautifully crafted with awesome acting it gives us many messages and also how you are not alone no matter what, love transgresses all the barriers be those of gender, sex, any deficiency, color or here the genera itself, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder! The setting, cold wartime, the stunning visuals make it a kaleidoscope of colors, emotions Not only the love plot but the life of a black woman in the times united states were changing and a lost failing artist are well-composed. Overall the shape of water beautifully shapes up our imagination Elisa is a scarred person so she feels that she lacks something (speech) and someone but it is the scar through which light enters and the darkness exits thus bringing out a mute woman whose character shouts louder than Mr. Strickland. Each person embodies different things- fear friendship, triumph, defeat, retribution all of which come to piece together as these normal people plot themselves and their kindness against the oppressive governments and their greed! Overall this film is a must-watch as it offers us a closure we need in today's hollow world where beauty is defined by body shapes and facial structure, where relationships are based on physical needs in this films melody is mix with the melancholy of life which makes it one of the best films I've seen.
