The Shape of Water (2017)

Yes, this is the one where a cleaning lady falls for a fish man. Let’s get past it, because the romance works. Everything around it is the problem. Michael Shannon’s Strickland is built out of every bad trait the era had, and he gets so cartoonish that the danger drains right out. A top secret government lab with security this loose would get shut down by lunch. And the plot runs on rails, so you can call every turn well before it lands. Now the good stuff. Sally Hawkins gives a full performance without saying a word, all hands and face and timing. Doug Jones, under all that rubber, makes a creature seem shy. Richard Jenkins is the best neighbor any movie heroine has had in years. Del Toro paints it all teal and green, like an aquarium you could move into. Critics gave it a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. A 7.8 because the craft is gorgeous and the story is safer than it thinks it is. $682 says you look at a carton of hard-boiled eggs differently by Friday.

What works: Sally Hawkins gives a wordless performance full of life, Doug Jones makes the creature tender, and the green and teal look is gorgeous.

What doesn’t: Michael Shannon’s villain is so cartoonish he stops being scary, and the plot runs on rails you can see well in advance.

Who it’s for: Romantics who like their fairy tales odd, and anyone who has ever felt more understood by a pet than by people.