Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    Best of 2022OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Shape of Water

  • 20172017
  • 14A14A
  • 2h 3m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
421K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
442
Doug Jones and Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water (2017)
An other-worldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa's life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.
Play trailer1:49
29 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaFantasyRomance
At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
421K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
442
    • Guillermo del Toro
    • Guillermo del Toro(screenplay by)
    • Vanessa Taylor(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Sally Hawkins
    • Octavia Spencer
    • Michael Shannon
    • Guillermo del Toro
    • Guillermo del Toro(screenplay by)
    • Vanessa Taylor(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Sally Hawkins
    • Octavia Spencer
    • Michael Shannon
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1.7KUser reviews
    • 1KCritic reviews
    • 87Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 4 Oscars

    Videos29

    New International Trailer
    Trailer 1:49
    Watch New International Trailer
    Red Band Trailer
    Trailer 2:21
    Watch Red Band Trailer
    Trailer
    Trailer 2:02
    Watch Trailer
    Now Playing Everywhere
    Trailer 2:31
    Watch Now Playing Everywhere
    The Shape of Water
    Trailer 2:37
    Watch The Shape of Water
    Unconventional Romances to Stream Now
    Clip 2:41
    Watch Unconventional Romances to Stream Now
    5 Takeaways from TIFF 2019
    Clip 4:06
    Watch 5 Takeaways from TIFF 2019
    How 'Pan's Labyrinth' Inspired 'Scary Stories'
    Clip 2:49
    Watch How 'Pan's Labyrinth' Inspired 'Scary Stories'
    Theater
    Clip 1:02
    Watch Theater
    Two Step
    Clip 0:44
    Watch Two Step
    Elisa And Zelda
    Clip 1:01
    Watch Elisa And Zelda
    Weakness In Character
    Clip 1:01
    Watch Weakness In Character

    Photos434

    Doug Jones and Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water (2017)
    Michael Shannon and Guillermo del Toro in The Shape of Water (2017)
    Octavia Spencer, Guillermo del Toro, and Sally Hawkins in IMDb Originals (2015)
    Michael Shannon, Lauren Lee Smith, Jayden Greig, and Madison Ferguson in The Shape of Water (2017)
    Octavia Spencer and Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water (2017)
    Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, and Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water (2017)
    Guillermo del Toro in The Shape of Water (2017)
    Octavia Spencer and Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water (2017)
    Michael Shannon in The Shape of Water (2017)
    David Hewlett, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Guillermo del Toro in The Shape of Water (2017)
    Richard Jenkins and Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water (2017)
    Richard Jenkins and Cody Ray Thompson in The Shape of Water (2017)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sally Hawkins
    Sally Hawkins
    • Elisa Esposito
    Octavia Spencer
    Octavia Spencer
    • Zelda Fuller
    Michael Shannon
    Michael Shannon
    • Richard Strickland
    Doug Jones
    Doug Jones
    • Amphibian Man
    Richard Jenkins
    Richard Jenkins
    • Giles
    Michael Stuhlbarg
    Michael Stuhlbarg
    • Dr. Robert Hoffstetler
    David Hewlett
    David Hewlett
    • Fleming
    Nick Searcy
    Nick Searcy
    • General Hoyt
    Stewart Arnott
    Stewart Arnott
    • Bernard
    Nigel Bennett
    Nigel Bennett
    • Mihalkov
    Lauren Lee Smith
    Lauren Lee Smith
    • Elaine Strickland
    Martin Roach
    Martin Roach
    • Brewster Fuller
    Allegra Fulton
    Allegra Fulton
    • Yolanda
    John Kapelos
    John Kapelos
    • Mr. Arzoumanian
    Morgan Kelly
    Morgan Kelly
    • Pie Guy
    Marvin Kaye
    Marvin Kaye
    • Burly Russian
    Dru Viergever
    Dru Viergever
    • Military Policeman
    Wendy Lyon
    Wendy Lyon
    • Sally (Secretary)
      • Guillermo del Toro
      • Guillermo del Toro(screenplay by) (story by)
      • Vanessa Taylor(screenplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Pan's Labyrinth
    8.2
    Pan's Labyrinth
    Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
    7.7
    Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
    Moonlight
    7.4
    Moonlight
    La La Land
    8.0
    La La Land
    Black Swan
    8.0
    Black Swan
    Green Book
    8.2
    Green Book
    The King's Speech
    8.0
    The King's Speech
    Slumdog Millionaire
    8.0
    Slumdog Millionaire
    Marriage Story
    7.9
    Marriage Story
    A Star Is Born
    7.6
    A Star Is Born
    Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
    8.1
    Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
    Roma
    7.7
    Roma

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Guillermo del Toro said about Sally Hawkins, "Not only was she the first choice, she was the only choice. I wrote the movie for Sally, I wrote the movie for Michael [Shannon]... Sally is -- I wanted the character of Elisa to be beautiful, in her own way, not in a way that is like a perfume commercial kind of way. That you could believe that this character, this woman would be sitting next to you on the bus. But at the same time she would have a luminosity, a beauty, almost magical, ethereal."
    • Goofs
      The scene with Elisa (Sally Hawkins) flooding up her bathroom has the following problems:

      1. Unless she also stopped up her toilet, the level of water in her bathroom would never have risen past that point. 2. Even if her bathroom is only 15X15X15 (conservative estimate), the amount of water would weigh approximately 200,000 lbs (1ft3 water = 7.5 gallons, 8.3 lbs per gallon). 3. Her apartment is shown as being above a theater, with a 1 foot crawlspace with wooden beams. The combined lack of obvious steel supports would have ensured that her entire bathroom would have been dropped into the theater.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Giles: If I told you about her, what would I say? That they lived happily ever after? I believe they did. That they were in love? That they remained in love? I'm sure that's true. But when I think of her - of Elisa - the only thing that comes to mind is a poem, whispered by someone in love, hundreds of years ago: "Unable to perceive the shape of You, I find You all around me. Your presence fills my eyes with Your love, It humbles my heart, For You are everywhere."

    • Crazy credits
      The opening credits roll over footage of a flooded apartment.
    • Connections
      Featured in FoundFlix: The Shape of Water (2017) (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      You'll Never Know
      Music by Harry Warren

      Lyrics by Mack Gordon

      Performed by Renée Fleming & The London Symphony Orchestra

      Arranged & Conducted by Alexandre Desplat

      Recorded & Mixed by Jonathan Allen at Studio de la Grande Armée, Paris

      Assistant: Ludovick Tartavel

      Piano: Frédéric Gaillardet

      Double Bass: Riccardo Del Fra

      Drums: Jeff Boudreaux (as Jeffrey Boudreaux)

      Bass Flute: Alexandre Desplat

      Courtesy of Decca Music Group Limited

      Under license from Universal Music Operations Ltd.

    User reviews1.7K

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    A part fantasy romance, part monster thriller that could only come from the mind of Guillermo Del Toro.
    A mute janitor falls in love with a fish man during the Cold War 1950's. That's about as simple as you can describe the plot of Guillermo Del Toro's new film The Shape of Water. Del Toro has always had in interest in monsters for his films. No matter how scary or deformed they look, they always have human traits that connect us with them. In this film, Del Toro has crafted his most likeable monster yet and tells a totally original story (trust me) that is part romance, part thriller.

    We follow the life of a janitor without a voice, Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins). She works in an underground facility alongside her co-worker, Zelda (Octavia Spencer), who talks enough to make up for Elisa's silence. One day a secret test subject is brought into the facility by the psychotic Strickland (Michael Shannon). The subject happens to be an amphibious-human hybrid creature that was found in the Amazon and has been brought back to America in order to be dissected and studied. After interacting together a few times, Elisa and the creature begin to form a special bond of love. Elisa recruits her neighbor (Richard Jenkins) and a sympathetic Russian spy (Michael Stuhlbarg) for a plan to break the creature from his chains and allow him to return home.

    The plot carries both a whimsical and serious tone to it. They mostly go together well as we get a fairytale that isn't afraid to embrace a childish feel with adult actions. However, GDT goes overboard once with a song and dance number that comes close to throwing the whole film off during its most poignant time.

    This is one of GDT's most mainstream films (apart from Pacific Rim) and is a great way for people unfamiliar with his work to be introduced. He expertly uses his monster experience to make a film that carries a realistic and fantasy tone.

    He also makes a very brave film that doesn't shy away from unconventional material. We get to see Michael Shannon having sex after his fingers get severed, political assassinations, and a self-pleasuring scene involving an egg timer. Oh, Elisa and the Amphibian Man also experience, let's just say, a special physical connection.

    The most impressive aspects of the film come from the behind the scenes work. The camera is brilliantly manned by Dan Lausten. It flows freely between the sets to give the film a romantic fantasy feel, but he also uses constant rain, dark colors, and confined spaces to make it feel like a cold war noir.

    The production design is also outstanding as each set piece is designed with care and precision. It's astonishing that this film was made for only $19.5 million because it looks like it cost more than triple that amount.

    The actors create one of the best ensembles of the year. They all carry their weight when matched together and make their characters interesting to watch. Hawkins is perfectly cast and leads the show with her signature shy look. She gives the most compelling and passionate performance of the year, all without saying a word.

    Richard Jenkins also gives an award-worthy supporting performance as Elisa's neighbor, Giles, who is going through a midlife crisis in terms of his career and sexuality. His scenes with Hawkins are astounding, but the ones with him alone aren't as great and take away from the important story.

    While not breaking any new ground, both Michael Shannon and Octavia Spencer do what they do best. Shannon gives his trademark evil, unhinged authority performance. Spencer does well in a performance very similar to her role in The Help.

    Michael Stuhlbarg also continues his amazing 2017 (also in Call Me by Your Name, The Post, and on TV with Fargo) by giving a great performance in the little time he has. Shoutout to Doug Jones as well for playing the Amphibian Man. He gives an endearing performance that brings warmth to his naturally cold-blooded character.

    The Shape of Water is easily one of 2017's best films and deserves all the Oscar nominations it will get. Every person in the cast and crew do their job exceptionally and create a breathtaking cinematic experience that makes you feel like a kid again while also giving you the stuff your adult mind wants to see.
    helpful•52
    36
    • hunter-friesen
    • Jan 25, 2018

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 8, 2017 (Canada)
      • United States
      • Mexico
    • Official sites
      • Fox Searchlight
      • Official Facebook
      • English
      • American Sign Language
      • Russian
      • French
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Double Dare You (DDY)
      • Searchlight Pictures
      • TSG Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 2 hours 3 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.