Rejects, Resurrection, and the Shape of Water

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
    and it is amazing in our eyes’?

 

Matthew 21:42

Maybe you didn't agree with the Best Picture nod to The Shape of Water on Sunday night, or maybe you didn't care. We enjoyed the film and may see it again and -hey- it was filmed in Canada. Well, it was filmed largely in Toronto, which is sort of Canada. If the movie theatre in the picture over which the heroine lived seemed kinda familiar it's because it was venerable Massey Hall, magically transformed. No, Gordon Lightfoot did not play the aquatic beast.

While this is a Cold War thriller of sorts, it is ultimately a love story between two lost figures. It's a classic mute and traumatized woman meets despised swamp creature tale which has what may be a happy ending, although we're not totally sure.



 I enjoyed listening to the aquatic beast actor Doug Jones talking about playing a number of director Guillermo del Toro's monsters in different movies. Jones was a gangly, outsiderish teen and is now a gangly, unusual leading man, thanks to this film. He is quietly eloquent about the monster and misfit in all of us, even when by outward appearances we are just fine.


Our Christian story tells us that Jesus loved rejects and outsiders. He accepted them and welcomed them into God's reign, even on the cross. And while he was rejected, he became the cornerstone of our faith.

And yes, there is a resurrection of sorts in The Shape of Water, but I won't say more.

Thoughts?