Oscars 2018: 9 Ups & 8 Downs

By Jack Pooley / March 5, 2018

2. Guillermo Del Toro Wins Best Director

It's frankly bizarre to accept that the Academy gave Best Picture to a movie where a mute woman embarks on a sexual relationship with a fish... thing.

While it perhaps would've been nice to see to see a Best Picture-Best Director split this year - as has become more common recently - it was also hard to be upset about Guillermo del Toro winning the first two Oscars of his career for directing and producing The Shape of Water.

To see a card-carrying "nerd director" win the biggest accolade in the film industry was nothing short of magnificent, and a refreshingly left-field pick for an organisation that so often settles for self-serious dramatic stodge.