The Shape of Water (2017)

This is it.  This is my pick for Best Picture in this year's Oscar field.  The director is Guillermo del Toro, and this is my favorite of his movies, even better than Pan's Labyrinth. 
The Shape of Water is a film only del Toro could have made. It’s the world as he sees it - full of injustice, but also, crucially, decency. Where others see pain, he sees hope, where others see fear, he sees compassion, where others see monsters, he sees friends. Every frame of every scene bleeds a passion for the absurd that only he has. From the downright romantic way in which he shoots the monster to the classic Hollywood movie tone he appropriates, he is all about making the horrible sympathetic and revealing the dark underbelly of those who wield power.
Its central characters are a mute woman, an elderly gay man, a black woman, and someone who isn’t a human at all. That sounds historic but it doesn't feel that way. And none of that matters, because of the empathy del Toro has for each of them. He has given them the voice that they normally wouldn’t have.  Sally Hawkins gives a magnificent performance, as does Michael Shannon as the sadistic government henchman.  Octavia Spencer and Richard Jenkins each garner another nomination as well.  This is really great on so many levels.