Overview
A haunting love story unfolds in a world where silence speaks louder than words.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- lyrical
- eerie
- sensual
- date night
- arthouse movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly acclaimed Guillermo del Toro’s visually distinctive direction, emotionally absorbing romantic fable, and Sally Hawkins’s performance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Elisa forms an intimate bond with the captured Amphibian Man despite the creature’s nonhuman appearance and status.
The film combines a Beauty and the Beast-like romance with explicit sexuality, government brutality, and morally compromised institutions.
Water imagery, flooded interiors, swimming, and the laboratory’s aquatic setting repeatedly shape Elisa’s emotional world.
The secret government laboratory confines and experiments on the Amphibian Man while marginalizing Elisa and her coworkers.
Films like The Shape of Water, and why
Pan’s Labyrinth
darkly romantic fairy-tale imagery, political violence, and compassionate outsider protagonists
Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast framework, gothic atmosphere, and romance crossing human and monstrous boundaries
Edward Scissorhands
stylized supernatural romance centered on loneliness, desire, and marginalized characters
The Elephant Man
melodramatic period storytelling about institutional cruelty, dignity, and an emotionally isolated outsider
Movie Details
- Director
- Guillermo del Toro
- Release Date
- 2017-12-01
- Runtime
- 123 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (13101)
Cast
- Sally Hawkins
- Michael Shannon
- Richard Jenkins
- Octavia Spencer
- Michael Stuhlbarg
- Doug Jones
- David Hewlett
- Nick Searcy
- Stewart Arnott
- Nigel Bennett
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Shape of Water about?
- A mute laboratory worker finds transformative love with a captured amphibious being in Guillermo del Toro’s lush 1960s fairy tale.
- What is The Shape of Water like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Shape of Water as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Shape of Water violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Shape of Water as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Shape of Water?
- Critics broadly acclaimed Guillermo del Toro’s visually distinctive direction, emotionally absorbing romantic fable, and Sally Hawkins’s performance.
- Which films are like The Shape of Water?
- Films with a similar feel include Pan’s Labyrinth, Beauty and the Beast, Edward Scissorhands, and The Elephant Man.
- How long is The Shape of Water?
- The Shape of Water runs 123 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Shape of Water?
- In United States, The Shape of Water streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel.
