The Shape of Water (2017)

The Shape of Water is Guillermo del Toro’s modern fable set in 1962 Baltimore, where a lonely, mute janitor named Elisa (Sally Hawkins) discovers a captured amphibious creature kept in a secret government laboratory. As Elisa and her co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) quietly befriend the creature—brought in for Cold War experiments—an unlikely, tender bond forms that challenges the cruelty of a hostile world led by the hard-edged Colonel Strickland (Michael Shannon). Beautifully acted (notably Doug Jones’s expressive physical performance as the creature), the film blends romance, suspense, and moral urgency while exploring themes of otherness, communication, and compassion. What you’ll experience watching it: - A richly atmospheric, fairy-tale tone grounded in gritty 1960s Cold War paranoia. - Visually lush production design and cinematography that make water and silence feel alive. - An intimate, emotional core: profound empathy and quiet romance conveyed largely without words. - Tension and stakes as authority and science threaten the creature, creating suspense and moral dilemmas. - A bittersweet mixture of wonder, sadness, warmth, and hope—an immersive, emotionally resonant journey rather than a conventional monster story.

Actors: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Runtime: 123 min

Genres: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

6.4 /10 87 /100 7.3 /10 7.5 /10