The Shape of Water | Rotten Tomatoes

The Shape of Water

R

Released Dec 22, 2017

2 hr. 3 min.

Fantasy

Romance

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List

92%

465 Reviews

Tomatometer

73%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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The F

Nearly perfect. The relationships and the strong personalities create an ongoing conflict which all comes to an excellent conclusion. This movie is incredibly difficult to describe, the plot is not completely original, but the way GUILLERMO DEL TORO Guillermo del Toro brings out the themes and characters is so vivid and so relatable. There is a good blend of suspense and lighthearted interaction, and as with all his stories . . . fables brought to life to ponder important moral concepts and what it means to be human, even for a creature which isn't human.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/14/24

Full Review

Rod-Alexander Georgescu

Wonderful Smart and Modern fantasy film with a mix of romance and suspense

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/12/24

Full Review

Eye C

It was starting to fade out and almost forgot how good this movie is. Truly a "modern" fairytale, a wonderful message, a great fantasy picture.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/24/24

Full Review

Luis N

Tuve la oportunidad de asistir al pre-estreno de la película "The Shape of Water" dirigida, escrita y producida por el compatriota Guillermo del Toro y aunque me gustó creo que se me hace difícil recomendarla. La película es un drama del subgénero de la "Fantasía Oscura" un cuento de hadas para adultos "puej", por tanto cuenta con un villano muy malo y repugnante, una "princesa" muda que genera cariño y empatía, un anciano y una amiga que sirven para mostrar lo bella que es la milf digo princesa, un becario infiltrado que ama la ciencia y un monstruo que aunque por fuera pudiera parecer horrible simplemente es diferente y las diferencias son bellas cuando son vistas desde la perspectiva adecuada. Cabe mencionar que como es un cuento para adultos tiene algo de sexo XD, aunque justificado y no como soporte taquillero como el de Camila Sodi en Camino a Marte. Es necesario hacer énfasis en que el párrafo anterior no le da el crédito suficiente a la película, rescato un comentario de Iñárritu donde expresa lo siguiente "la idea de esta película (el amor entre una muda y un hombre pez), no solo se le puede ocurrir a Del Toro, pero también solo un artista como el sería capaz de llevarla a cabo", añado que no solo fue capaz de llevarla a cabo si no que lo logró con una excelente narración y una ambientación llena de detalles, me encantó.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/22/24

Full Review

Maya P

Loved the originality of the script and visual storytelling.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/10/24

Full Review

Norton

A very pleasant film to watch.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/09/24

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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The Shape of Water: Red Band Trailer 2

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The Shape of Water: Trailer 1

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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

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

Mark Johnson

Awards Daily

The meticulous craftsmanship is to be expected in any del Toro film and only adds to the magic spell he puts us under.

Jun 27, 2023

Full Review

Jennifer Bisset

CNET

It balances a harsh 1960s setting with fairy tale magic painted into its big, beautifully-detailed sets. Only del Toro could pull this madness off.

Apr 20, 2023

Full Review

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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
Executive Producer: Liz Sayre
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
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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