"This score is basically Desplat in he's favorite element if you like that kind of thing. However I'm sometimes confused if this is a quaint French small town drama, a spy drama or a Del Toro fantasy film. I just don't see how they can combine successfully, not this time at least. The thing is, it's very nice to listen to, pleasant even and the love theme is really nice. When it gets really big and dramatic like in 'Rainy Day' it shines. However there are times, I just want to skip ahead to find the interesting music. There isn't too much of that sadly, but there's some and within each cue there's something to keep you holding on to the end, but it's sadly a rather unsatisfying overall listening experience"

"The shape of water" is the perfect combination or fairy tale and romance and I found myself dreaming during the best moments and captivated during the more serious ones. There is also a bold 11 minutes long opus "The escape" which kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. It's now two Desplat scores in a row I've really enjoyed and this is a surprise for me. I think this is him at his most romantic, old school romantic and I think he should write like this more often"