The Shape of Water

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2:20

The Shape of Water

R

Released Dec 22, 2017

2h 3m

Fantasy

Romance

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Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

464 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Elisa is a mute, isolated woman who works as a cleaning lady in a hidden, high-security government laboratory in 1962 Baltimore. Her life changes forever when she discovers the lab's classified secret -- a mysterious, scaled creature from South America that lives in a water tank. As Elisa develops a unique bond with her new friend, she soon learns that its fate and very survival lies in the hands of a hostile government agent and a marine biologist.

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Critics Consensus

The Shape of Water finds Guillermo del Toro at his visually distinctive best -- and matched by an emotionally absorbing story brought to life by a stellar Sally Hawkins performance.

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Chris Bennion

Times (UK)

You’ll either be charmed by Hawkins’s ethereal, wordless performance or you won’t, but del Toro’s use of a vivid colour palette would impress anyone.

Feb 14, 2023

Full Review

Anupama Chopra

Film Companion

The Shape of Water is visionary filmmaking.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 6, 2018

Full Review

Robert Daniels

812filmreviews

So, while we know Elisa has humanity, Del Toro has to plead his case for the fish-man.

Rated: 3.5/4

Sep 5, 2018

Full Review

JD Duran

InSession Film

Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water is a beautiful and fully realized film about loneliness and our desire for love.

Aug 7, 2024

Full Review

Diana Tuova

Spotlight on Film

Del Toro has made a film whose dark, sublime, watery beauty is indisputable, and whose story is as much an intriguing "beauty-and-the-beast" ballad as it is a captivating homage to the different and the extraordinary.

Rated: 4.5/5

Aug 2, 2024

Full Review

Denise Pieniazek

Metacultura (AR)

However, while The Creature from the Black Lagoon was darker, in The Shape of Water he is a more humanized and warm being, here he is the victim and not a threat, the typical scheme that we know from King Kong (1933) is no longer repeated.

Rated: 10/10

Dec 28, 2023

Full Review

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Andrew A

it was just a fun story that put a smile on my face.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/01/24

Full Review

Kathryn V

Love this movie!!!! Have watched it so many times.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/15/24

Full Review

David R

Incredible film, one of Del Toro's best !

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/15/24

Full Review

First name L

This is the one that cements his legacy; a strangely charming story about romantic other, with subtle visual prose and powerful tenderness.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/28/24

Full Review

Audience Member

I never did buy the romance at the core of the film, but its stylish aesthetic, likeable characters and whimsical charm made for a surreal and interesting watch.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/28/24

Full Review

Peter H

MOBY DICK. MOBY DICK. MOBY DICK.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/21/24

Full Review

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Guillermo del Toro

Director

Sally Hawkins

Elisa Esposito

Michael Shannon

Richard Strickland

Richard Jenkins

Giles

Octavia Spencer

Zelda Fuller

Michael Stuhlbarg

Dr. Robert Hoffstetler

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Synopsis

Elisa is a mute, isolated woman who works as a cleaning lady in a hidden, high-security government laboratory in 1962 Baltimore. Her life changes forever when she discovers the lab's classified secret -- a mysterious, scaled creature from South America that lives in a water tank. As Elisa develops a unique bond with her new friend, she soon learns that its fate and very survival lies in the hands of a hostile government agent and a marine biologist.

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Producer: Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale
Screenwriter: Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Production Co: Double Dare You, TSG Entertainment
Rating: R (Language|Graphic Nudity|Sexual Content|Violence)
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 22, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 23, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $63.3M
Runtime: 2h 3m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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