Synopsis
An other-worldly story, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962, where a mute janitor working at a lab falls in love with an amphibious man being held captive there and devises a plan to help him escape.
Votre Filmothèque
Cast
- Sally HawkinsElisa Esposito
- Michael ShannonRichard Strickland
- Richard JenkinsGiles
- Octavia SpencerZelda Fuller
- Michael StuhlbargDr. Robert Hoffstetler
- Doug JonesAmphibian Man
- David HewlettFleming
- Nick SearcyGeneral Hoyt
- Stewart ArnottBernard
- Nigel BennettMihalkov
- 100
IndieWire
Not only is The Shape of Water one of del Toro’s most stunningly successful works, it’s also a powerful vision of a creative master feeling totally, joyously free. - 100
The Hollywood Reporter
This meticulously crafted jewel is del Toro's most satisfying work since Pan's Labyrinth. - 100
The Playlist
Without a single weak link in the exceptional cast...it’s a film that makes you feel a lot. But overridingly you feel lucky — lucky to be watching it, lucky that something so sincerely sweet, sorrowfully scary and surpassingly strange can exist in this un-wonderful world, and desirous of hanging on to as much of its magic for as long as you can after you reemerge back onto dry land. - 100
Screen Daily
Guillermo del Toro channels all the streams that make him unique into The Shape Of Water, pouring his heart, soul and considerable craft into an exquisite creature fable. - 100
Variety
Perhaps the greatest of The Shape of Water’s many surprises is how extravagantly romantic it is, driven throughout by an all-conquering belief in soulmates as lifelines. - 100
The Telegraph
Like the best bath you’ve ever had, it sends tingles coursing through every part of you that other films don’t reach. - 95
TheWrap
There’s something here for lovers of all kinds of movies — even silents and musicals — but the director transcends mere pastiche to craft a work that feels like the product of our collective film-going subconscious. - 91
The Film Stage
In order to enjoy the myriad pleasures of del Toro’s world — with all its counterpointed humor, quicksilver pacing, endearing humanity, peculiar eroticism, and sudden eruptions of violence — one must simply take the plunge.