THERE ARE AT LEAST FOUR FEATS OF MOVIE MAGIC IN director Guillermo del Toro’s new film The Shape of Water. First, there’s the fact that the lead speaks no lines: Sally Hawkins plays Elisa, a mute woman who works as a cleaning lady at a Cold War–era government laboratory. Second, there’s the monstrous yet alluring sea creature the scientists have captured from the waters of South America, rendered as a towering, scaly brute with human sensitivity. Third, there’s the sexy, wordless romance that develops between Elisa and the creature. And finally, there’s Octavia Spencer, who, as Elisa’s talkative, down-to-earth work friend Zelda, makes it all believable.
Spencer has found success before in 1960s-era roles with performances that bring great dignity to characters who, as black women in that period, were…
