This week at the cinema

The Shape of Water (2017)Genre: FantasyDirector: Guillermo del ToroStarring: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael StuhlbargDuration: 123 minutesClass: 15KRS Releasing Ltd After Pan’s Laybrinth (2006) and Crimson Tide (2015), Mexican director Guillermo del Toro returns to the big screen with another award-winning fantasy film. Nominated for 13 Oscars, including best picture, best director and best actress, the film follows Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute, isolated woman who works as a cleaning lady in a hidden, high-security government laboratory in 1962 Baltimore. Her life changes forever when she discovers the lab’s classified secret – a mysterious, scaled creature from South America (Doug Jones) that lives in a water tank. As Elisa develops a unique bond with her new friend, she soon learns that its fate and very survival lies in the hands of a hostile government agent and a marine biologist. The film, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival where it premiered last year and a host of other awards, has been praised on many levels: performances, screenplay, direction, production design and musical score. Some critics...