Film Preview: The Shape of Water (2017)

Page Revisions:

(July 23, 2017) Original
(September 17, 2017) New Trailer (#2) / New Poster (#2)
(November 12, 2017) New Trailer (#3) / New Poster (#3)
(November 26, 2017) New Release Date (changed from 12/8/17)

Release Date:

December 1, 2017

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “An other-worldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1963. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of silence and isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forver when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.”

Poster Rating: C+ / C / B-

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Review: (#1) While it’s nicely drawn and eye-catching, its simplistic connection to the film doesn’t engender excitement.

(#2) It’s the pencil drawing version of the prior poster design and while the art is good, it’s not interesting enough to sell a film.

(#3) A design that conjures up period elements that feel pleasant, but inconsequential.

Trailer Rating: B / C+ / A

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Review: (#1) Building a mythology quickly, this trailer does a fine job establishing the monster in the water and setting everything up to be a type of period love story we don’t often see.

(#2) Introducing the violent and preening villain in a red band trailer is a poor decision, since Michael Shannon’s character comes across as very off-putting and hardly worth wanting to see the film for. There isn’t enough background detail to bolster the original trailer into something more people will want to see.

(#3) A smashing trailer with wonderful musical accompaniment, stirring imagery, and plenty of suggestion of drama. This is a film that oozes the kind of detail that have made Guillermo del Toro one of the most impressive filmmakers in modern cinema.