The Shape of Water

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2:20

The Shape of Water

R

2017

2h 3m

Fantasy

Drama

Romance

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

464 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Elisa is a mute, isolated woman who works in a hidden, high-security government laboratory. 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.

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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

The Times (UK)

Feb 14, 2023

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.

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Anupama Chopra

Film Companion

Sep 6, 2018

4/5

The Shape of Water is visionary filmmaking.

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Robert Daniels

812filmreviews

Sep 5, 2018

3.5/4

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

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Dec 27, 2025

3/4

If The Shape of Water never quite breaks out of the confines of what's basically a tale as old as time, it's still an artfully executed diversion further strengthened by an excellent central performance by Hawkins.

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

Jul 28, 2025

4/5

Fantastical triumphs of mortal spirit over evil forces are applied to inhuman oddities with jarringly violent consequences.

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Julian Singleton

Cinapse

Jul 11, 2025

This romance is destined to thrive where land and the petty political squabbles upon them stop, where passions run deep in unpredictable waters.

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Andrew A

Oct 1, 2024

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

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Alejandro R

@AleAliAlea Sep 10, 2026

Good movie. A little on the nose. The musical number, other than being terrible, is incredibly on the nose. To all writers and directors, let your audience figure stuff out.

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Declan D

@filmbuffkid Sep 9, 2026

Yeah no wonder why this won best picture. Everything about this movie is perfect, the score, the creature design, the acting, the plot, the characters everything about this movie is perfect. I felt like after “Titanic” came out, romance films were steadily declining over the years and I thought going into this that it’s going to be a regular sci-fi film and after watching it.. THIS!! is one of the greatest films I’ve ever seen in my life!!! Guillermo del Toro never misses, almost everything he makes like Gilmore Del Toro’s Pinocchio, Trollhunters and the shape of water are absolute masterpieces. And I’d rather watch a creature and a woman fall in love with each other then watch an entire movie that’s main message is cheating on people *cough* Regretting you *cough*. And the body language in this movie.. “woo i’m gonna make a name for myself here” the main character is perfect and I love that she does ASL to communicate and that is cinema right there. Overall, its chefs kiss. 10/10

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Johnny R

@RT08810596 Sep 2, 2026

This is basically a high production value of the Creature From the Black Lagoon, obviously the story differs. It is only marginally better. The raves about this movie are out of place. This is simply not that good of a movie, it is a mediocre movie. Yeah yeah I know visually stunning, a mediocre movie that is visually stunning is still a mediocre movie. Academy Awards for this? Be serous. There is nothing of note in this movie that warrants all the praise it gets. It is dull, the story is pretty plain with some weirdness thrown in. I can look at movies that win awards even if I don't like them myself and understand why others might like them to that level. This one? This is not that good of a movie from any vantage point and I am baffled by the praise.

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Renaldo D

@RT30888824 Jul 27, 2026

Best movie of the season

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Fantazynerd 1

@RT48179632 Jul 4, 2026

Beautiful and tragic

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Sally Hawkins

Elisa Esposito

Michael Shannon

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Synopsis

Elisa is a mute, isolated woman who works in a hidden, high-security government laboratory. 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.

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Producer: Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale
Screenwriter: Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Production Co: TSG Entertainment, Double Dare You
Rating: R (Language|Graphic Nudity|Sexual Content|Violence)
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
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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