Starring Doug Jones, Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg

Directed by Guillermo del Toro

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, out now on digital download, 4K ULTRA HD, Blu-ray and DVD

At a top secret government facility in 1960s Baltimore, a mute cleaner falls in love with an amphibious creature and plans to release him from his bonds.

Guillermo del Toro’s gorgeous, adult fairy tale is his best movie since Pan’s Labyrinth, a reworking of The Creature from the Black Lagoon by way of Beauty and the Beast. It’s easy to see why members of the various awards committees have fallen in love with it. It resonates on both an emotional and technical level and every frame feels considered and constructed with such passion for the project.

Sally Hawkins is note-perfect as the mute Elisa, living her life under the shadow of her disability, and waiting for someone (or something) to recognise her for who she really is. Through her silent hand signals and the angst on her face you feel every emotion, particularly when she faces off against the movie’s villain Michael Shannon.

There’s a great, witty script by del Toro and Vanessa (Game of Thrones) Taylor, sparkling when fellow cleaner Octavia Spencer delivers some of the zingers, and there’s also a pathos to the performance by Richard Jenkins as her unlucky-in-love neighbour. The merman (he never gets a name) is a wonderful, practical prosthetic creature suit, brought to life by del Toro’s regular monster performer Doug Jones (now equally well-known as Star Trek: Discovery’s Saru). He speaks no English, but again you can read every aspect of his performance through his movement and emotion.

Even the supporting role of Dr Hoffstetler by Michael Stuhlbarg (Doctor Strange, Arrival) is nuanced, and while it’s no shock that the message is ‘the monsters are not the ones with the gills, but the ones running the country’ it’s gratifying to see some humanity for the unlikeliest of places. Possibly the weakest link is Michael Shannon’s Strickland, who is so evil that nothing can redeem him. But what’s a fairy story without a big bad wolf or a broadly-written villain, and you just know he’s gonna get what’s coming.

The Blu-ray extras unfortunately don’t include a commentary by del Toro – but there’s more than enough behind the scenes material here for any fan of the movie. A Fairytale for Troubled Times is fascinating – and spoiler-filled – and we do get just under quarter of an hour of a del Toro Q and A.

Verdict: This fantastical grown-up love story is a beautiful alternative to blockbuster mayhem. 9/10

Nick Joy

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