Colour me pleasantly surprised.

Sure, with all the hype and acclaim, it should be a no brainer that this is a good movie. I didn't really doubt it'd be a great experience at least, even if the trailers spoiled the gist of the plot. However, Del Toro fans were rallying behind this as a Best Picture frontrunner and man did I not buy that a fish-fucking film would win. That doubt translated in me not being as excited for the film, as well as not being too hot on Del Toro as most people (my favourite is Pacific Rim with a generous 7/10), so the fact that The Shape of Water is a masterpiece that feels like an instant classic is something I hadn't prepared for. This is my La La Land of the year (or more accurately, my Her or The Lobster, since I rank them around the same place in my top of the decade and they're a little similar).

It definitely helps that I felt I could connect to it right away. A lot of people say that it's a detraction that they didn't feel the connection between Elisa and the creature enough to get invested, but I felt that connection pretty quick even before the creature's appearance. This is mostly due to Sally Hawkins' tender and predictably pitch-perfect performance. I relate to it a lot in a way. Not the fish-fucking, but more in the abstract way my long distance relationship feeds into it, especially my first trip to my future wife. You know, you have the kinda dream idea of who they might be, the early infatuation of the relationship working in theory, the anxiety of going the distance, the thrill of being together and the heartbreak of the first long goodbye. The love story got to me.

But what I really like about it is the novelistic indulgence that Del Toro has into filling colour into the rest of his characters. It may not feed into the plot as such as we spend long sequences fleshing out Jenkins, Shannon, Stuhlbarg and Spencer, but they negate the cartoonish nature of the archetypes that would bother me in any other film. It adds more weight to the political subtext and commentary that Del Toro achieves with his metaphors on racism, immigration and the 'other'. No better director to explore these ideas, but he also brings wit, heart and humanity to it too. Perfect casting helps, as I loved Jenkins and to a lesser extent Stuhlbarg and Spencer, as much as Hawkins.

Plus - naturally - this is one of the most stunning and rich visual cinematic experiences I've had. This is technically seamless, with gorgeous swooping cinematography, immaculate production design, world-class makeup, with a splendid score to match. It's gleefully immersive. I think it'll become a classic on the same level as Jeunet's Amelie for its vision of the world. Sometimes it can feel a little cynical - especially on Shannon's allegory for America - but there's such a deep warmth throughout the whole thing that just shouts out a love of the world, the people in it and the love they experience (and the cinema they watch). This is a refreshing, rewarding and cathartic treat.

I'm happy to have a #1 of the year I'm happy with, especially as it's one I sorely underestimated rather than expected to take the top spot. Lots of films to be excited about this year, but I wish I had a few more 9/10s. This is close to my top 100 though, and pretty unprecedented for Del Toro for me (this must be the excitement people had for Pan's Labyrinth, which never did anything for me). Every Oscar that The Shape of Water loses will be pure robbery.