The Shape of Water - wikipedia The Shape of Water This article is about the American film. For the unrelated Italian novel, see The Shape of Water ( novel ). The Shape of Water Theatrical release poster Directed by Guillermo del Toro Produced by Guillermo del Toro J. Miles Dale Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro Vanessa Taylor Story by Guillermo del Toro Starring Sally Hawkins Michael Shannon Richard Jenkins Doug Jones Michael Stuhlbarg Octavia Spencer Music by Alexandre Desplat Cinematography Dan Laustsen Edited by Sidney Wolinsky Production companies TSG Entertainment Double Dare You Productions Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures Release date August 31, 2017 ( 2017 - 08 - 31 ) ( Venice ) December 1, 2017 ( 2017 - 12 - 01 ) ( United States ) Running time 123 minutes Country United States Language American Sign Language English Budget $19.5 million Box office $194.3 million The Shape of Water is a 2017 American romantic dark fantasy drama film directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor. It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer. Set in Baltimore in 1962, the story follows a mute custodian at a high - security government laboratory who falls in love with a captured humanoid amphibian creature. The Shape of Water was screened in the main competition section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival, where it premiered on August 31, 2017, and was awarded the Golden Lion for best film in the competition. It also screened at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. It began a limited release in two theaters in New York City on December 1, 2017, before expanding following December 8, 2017, and has grossed $194 million worldwide. A novelization by del Toro and Daniel Kraus was published on March 6, 2018. The Shape of Water received critical acclaim for its performances, screenplay, direction, visuals, production design, and musical score, with many critics calling it del Toro 's best work since Pan 's Labyrinth ; the American Film Institute selected it as one of the top 10 films of the year. The film received a number of awards and nominations, including thirteen nominations at the 90th Academy Awards, where it won for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Production Design and Best Original Score. It was nominated for seven awards at the 75th Golden Globe Awards, winning for Best Director and Best Original Score. At the 71st British Academy Film Awards, it received twelve nominations and won three awards, including Best Director. The film also earned fourteen nominations at the 23rd Critics ' Choice Awards and won four awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Soundtrack 4.1 Track listing 5 Release 5.1 Home media 6 Reception 6.1 Box office 6.2 Critical response 6.3 Top - ten lists 6.4 Accolades 6.5 Lawsuit alleging plagiarism 7 References 8 External links Plot Elisa Esposito, who was found in a river as an orphaned child with wounds on her neck, is mute, and communicates through sign language. She lives alone in an apartment above a cinema, and works as a cleaning woman at a secret government laboratory in Baltimore at the height of the Cold War. Her friends are her closeted next - door neighbor Giles, a struggling advertising illustrator who shares a strong bond with her, and her African - American co-worker Zelda, a woman who also serves as her interpreter at work. The facility receives a mysterious creature captured from a South American river by Colonel Richard Strickland, who is in charge of the project to study it. Curious about the creature, Elisa discovers it is a humanoid amphibian. She begins visiting him in secret, and the two form a close bond. Seeking to exploit the creature to American advantage in the Space Race, General Frank Hoyt orders Strickland to vivisect it. One scientist, Robert Hoffstetler -- who is in truth a Soviet spy named Dimitri Mosenkov -- pleads unsuccessfully to keep the creature alive for further study and, at the same time, is ordered by his Soviet handlers to euthanize the creature. When Elisa learns of the Americans ' plans for the creature, she persuades Giles to help her free him. Mosenkov discovers Elisa 's plot and chooses to help her. Though initially reluctant, Zelda becomes involved in the escape, and it is successful. Elisa keeps the creature in her bathtub, adding salt to the water to keep him alive. She plans to release the creature into a nearby canal when it will be opened to the ocean in several days ' time. As part of his efforts to recover the creature, Strickland interrogates Elisa and Zelda, but the failure of his advances toward Elisa hampers his judgment, and he dismisses them. Back at the apartment, Giles discovers the creature devouring one of his cats, Pandora. Startled, the creature slashes Giles 's arm and rushes out of the apartment. The creature gets as far as the cinema downstairs before Elisa finds him and returns him to her apartment. The creature touches Giles on his balding head and his wounded arm ; the next morning, Giles discovers his hair has begun growing back and the wounds on his arm have healed. Elisa and the creature soon become romantically involved, having sex in her bathroom, which she at one point fills completely with water. Hoyt gives Strickland an ultimatum, asking him to recover the creature within 36 hours. Meanwhile, Mosenkov is told by his handlers that he will be extracted in two days. As the planned release date approaches, the creature 's health starts deteriorating. Mosenkov leaves to rendezvous with his handlers, with Strickland tailing him. At the rendezvous, Mosenkov is shot by one of his handlers, but Strickland shoots the handlers dead and then tortures Mosenkov for information. Mosenkov implicates Elisa and Zelda before dying from his wounds. Strickland then threatens Zelda in her home, causing her terrified husband to reveal that Elisa had been keeping the creature. Strickland searches Elisa 's apartment and finds a calendar note revealing when and where she plans to release him. At the canal, Elisa and Giles bid farewell to the creature, but Strickland arrives and attacks them all. Strickland knocks Giles down and shoots the creature and Elisa, who both appear to die. However, the creature heals himself and slashes Strickland 's throat, killing him. As police arrive on the scene with Zelda, the creature takes Elisa and jumps into the canal, where, deep under water, he heals her. When he applies his healing touch to the scars on her neck, they open to reveal gills like his. In a closing voice - over narration, Giles conveys his belief that Elisa lived `` happily ever after '' with the creature. Cast Sally Hawkins as Elisa Esposito, a mute cleaner who works at a secret government laboratory. Michael Shannon as Richard Strickland, a United States Colonel in charge of the project to study the `` asset ''. Richard Jenkins as Giles, Elisa 's neighbor and close friend who is a struggling advertising illustrator. Octavia Spencer as Zelda Delilah Fuller, Elisa 's African - American co-worker and friend who serves as her interpreter. Michael Stuhlbarg as Robert Hoffstetler / Dimitri Mosenkov, a Soviet spy working as a scientist studying the creature under an alias. Doug Jones as `` Amphibian Man '', an amphibious creature referred to as the `` asset '', with whom Elisa forms a close bond. David Hewlett as Fleming, the laboratory 's head of security. Nick Searcy as Frank Hoyt, a United States General who is Strickland 's superior. Stewart Arnott as Bernard, Giles ' employer and former lover. Nigel Bennett as Mihalkov, Mosenkov 's handler. Lauren Lee Smith as Elaine Strickland, Strickland 's wife. Martin Roach as Brewster Fuller, Zelda 's husband. Allegra Fulton as Yolanda, a cleaning woman at the laboratory. John Kapelos as Mr. Arzoumanian, the owner of the cinema who resided below Elisa and Giles ' apartments. Morgan Kelly as Pie Guy, a diner employee to whom Giles is attracted. Production The Gill - man in Creature from the Black Lagoon was an inspiration to del Toro 's concept. The idea for The Shape of Water formed during del Toro 's breakfast with Daniel Kraus in 2011, with whom he later co-wrote the novel Trollhunters. It shows similarities to the 2015 short film The Space Between Us. It was also primarily inspired by del Toro 's childhood memories of seeing Creature from the Black Lagoon and wanting to see the Gill - man and Kay Lawrence ( played by Julie Adams ) succeed in their romance. When del Toro was in talks with Universal to direct a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon, he tried pitching a version focused more on the creature 's perspective, where the Creature ended up together with the female lead, but the studio executives rejected the concept. Del Toro set the film during the 1960s Cold War era to counteract today 's heightened tensions, specifying, `` if I say once upon a time in 1962, it becomes a fairy tale for troubled times. People can lower their guard a little bit more and listen to the story and listen to the characters and talk about the issues, rather than the circumstances of the issues. '' Filming began on August 15, 2016, in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, and wrapped on November 6, 2016. In an interview with IndieWire about the film, del Toro said, `` This movie is a healing movie for me... For nine movies I rephrased the fears of my childhood, the dreams of my childhood, and this is the first time I speak as an adult, about something that worries me as an adult. I speak about trust, otherness, sex, love, where we 're going. These are not concerns that I had when I was nine or seven. '' Soundtrack The Shape of Water ( Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ) Soundtrack album by Alexandre Desplat Released December 1, 2017 Genre Soundtrack Length 1 : 16 : 23 Label Decca Producer Dominique Lemonnier Alexandre Desplat is the composer of the film 's score. The score won the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 90th Academy Awards. Track listing All tracks written by Alexandre Desplat, except where noted. Track listing No. Title Length 1. `` The Shape of Water '' 3 : 42 2. `` You 'll Never Know '' ( feat. Renée Fleming ) 4 : 38 3. `` The Creature '' 1 : 46 4. `` Elisa 's Theme '' 2 : 36 5. `` Fingers '' 2 : 09 6. `` Spy Meeting '' 1 : 42 7. `` Elisa and Zelda '' 1 : 10 8. `` Five Stars General '' 1 : 31 9. `` The Silence of Love '' 1 : 35 10. `` Egg '' 2 : 13 11. `` That Is n't Good '' 1 : 43 12. `` Underwater Kiss '' 2 : 12 13. `` The Escape '' 10 : 57 14. `` Watching Ruth '' 2 : 18 15. `` Decency '' 2 : 23 16. `` He 's Coming For You '' 1 : 39 17. `` Overflow of Love '' 2 : 56 18. `` Without You '' 2 : 30 19. `` Rainy Day '' 3 : 12 20. `` A Princess Without a Voice '' 1 : 50 21. `` La Javanaise '' ( Madeleine Peyroux ) 4 : 10 22. `` I Know Why ( And So Do You ) '' ( Glenn Miller and His Orchestra ) 2 : 58 23. `` Chica Chica Boom Chic '' ( Carmen Miranda ) 2 : 19 24. `` Babalú '' ( Caterina Valente & Silvio Francesco ) 2 : 51 25. `` A Summer Place '' ( Andy Williams ) 2 : 34 26. `` You 'll Never Know '' ( feat. Renée Fleming ( Alternative Version ) ) 6 : 49 27. `` Mermaid '' ( Skøtt ) 3 : 32 28. `` Oceanful '' ( I. AM. WILLOW ) 3 : 37 Total length : 1 : 16 : 23 Release The Shape of Water premiered on August 31, 2017 at the 74th Venice International Film Festival. It also screened at Telluride Film Festival, the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival, among others. The film was released in two theaters in New York City on December 1, 2017 and then expended to several other cities the following week. It had its official wide release in the United States on December 22, 2017. Home Media On March 13, 2018, the film was released on Blu - ray, DVD and digital download. Reception Box Office As of April 24, 2018, The Shape of Water has grossed $63.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $130.5 million in other countries, for a total of $194.3 million. After grossing $4.6 million over three weeks of limited release, the film began its wide release on December 22, 2017, alongside the openings of Downsizing, Pitch Perfect 3 and Father Figures, and the wide expansion of Darkest Hour, and grossed $3 million from 726 theaters over the weekend, and $4.4 million over the four - day Christmas frame. The following weekend, the film made $3.5 million. The weekend of January 27, 2018, following the announcement of the film 's 13 Oscar nominations, the film was added to over 1,000 theaters ( for a total of 1,854 ) and made $5.9 million ( an increase of 171 % over the previous week 's $2.2 million ), finishing 8th. The weekend of March 9 -- 11, following its four Oscar wins, the film made $2.4 million. It marked a 64 % increase from the previous week 's $1.5 million and was similar to the $2.5 million made by the previous year 's Best Picture winner, Moonlight. Critical response Sally Hawkins ' performance garnered widespread critical acclaim and earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92 % based on 348 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4 / 10. The website 's critical consensus reads : `` 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. '' On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating `` universal acclaim ''. According to CinemaScore, audience members under the age of 40 gave the film an average grade of either `` A + '' or `` A '', while those over 40 gave it an `` A '' or `` A − '', on an A+ to F scale ; PostTrak reported filmgoers gave the film an overall positive score of 80 %. Ben Croll of IndieWire gave the film an ' A ' rating and called it `` one of del Toro 's most stunningly successful works... also a powerful vision of a creative master feeling totally, joyously free. '' Writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, praising Hawkins 's performance, the cinematography and del Toro 's direction, and saying : `` Even as the film plunges into torment and tragedy, the core relationship between these two unlikely lovers holds us in thrall. Del Toro is a world - class film artist. There 's no sense trying to analyze how he does it. '' For the Minnesota Daily, Haley Bennett reacted positively, writing, `` The Shape of Water has tenderness uncommon to del Toro films... While The Shape of Water is n't groundbreaking, it is elegant and mesmerizing. '' Conversely, Rex Reed of the New York Observer gave the film 1 out of 4 stars and calling it `` a loopy, lunkheaded load of drivel '' and, referring to Hawkins 's role in Maudie, described people with disabilities as `` defective creatures. '' Reed 's review was criticized for referring to Sally Hawkins ' mute character as `` mentally handicapped '' and for erroneously crediting actor Benicio del Toro as the film 's director. Top - ten lists The Shape of Water appeared on many critics ' year - end top - ten lists, among them : 1st -- Anne Thompson, IndieWire 1st -- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times 1st -- Sasha Stone, Awards Daily 1st -- Drew McWeeny, The Tracking Board 1st -- Nicholas Barber, BBC 1st -- Mike Scott, The Times - Picayune 1st -- James Verniere, Boston Herald 1st -- Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter 1st -- Marjorie Baumgarten & Steve Davis, The Austin Chronicle 1st -- Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal 2nd -- David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter 2nd -- Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times 3rd -- Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter 3rd -- Matthew Jacobs, HuffPost 3rd -- E. Oliver Whitney, ScreenCrush 3rd -- Alonso Duralde, TheWrap 4th -- Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood 4th -- Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com 4th -- Chris Bumbray, JoBlo.com 5th -- Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle 5th -- James Berardinelli, Reelviews 5th -- Christopher Orr, The Atlantic 5th -- Gregory Ellwood, IndieWire 5th -- Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle 6th -- Kimber Myers, IndieWire 6th -- People 7th -- The Guardian 7th -- Peter Debruge, Variety 7th -- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone 8th -- Peter Howell, Toronto Star 9th -- Steve Erickson, RogerEbert.com 9th -- Stephen Whitty, The Star - Ledger 9th -- Ryan Oliver, IndieWire 10th -- Danny Bowes, RogerEbert.com 10th -- Paste Top 10 ( listed alphabetically, not ranked ) -- IGN Top 10 ( listed alphabetically, not ranked ) -- Ty Burr, The Boston Globe Top 10 ( listed alphabetically, not ranked ) -- Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times Top 10 ( listed alphabetically, not ranked ) -- Walter Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle Top 10 ( listed alphabetically, not ranked ) -- Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Best of 2017 ( listed alphabetically, not ranked ) -- Newsweek Accolades See also : List of accolades received by The Shape of Water The Shape of Water received 13 nominations at the 90th Academy Awards, the most of any film in the 2018 race. It won in four categories : Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Director, and Best Picture. The film also spawned some debate about whether the fact that it was filmed in Canada, with a predominantly Canadian crew and many Canadian actors in the supporting roles, should have made it eligible to be nominated for the Canadian Screen Awards. Under Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television rules, to qualify for CSA nominations under the rules for international coproductions at least 15 per cent of a film 's funding must come from a Canadian film studio. Even the film 's Canadian co-producer, J. Miles Dale, stated that he supports the rules and does not believe the film should have been eligible. Lawsuit alleging Plagiarism In February 2018, the estate of Paul Zindel initiated a lawsuit in United States District Court for the Central District of California against director Guillermo del Toro and associate producer Daniel Kraus, alleging that The Shape of Water `` brazenly copies the story, elements, characters, and themes '' of Zindel 's 1969 work Let Me Hear You Whisper, which depicts a cleaning lady bonding with a dolphin and attempting to rescue it from a secret research laboratory 's nefarious uses. The complaint spends more than a dozen pages detailing alleged `` overwhelming similarities '' between the works. Del Toro denied the claim of the Zindel estate, saying that `` I have never read nor seen the play. I 'd never heard of this play before making The Shape of Water, and none of my collaborators ever mentioned the play. '' Distributor Fox Searchlight also denied the claim and said that it would `` vigorously defend '' itself in court. 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Jump up ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. ( July 25, 2017 ). `` Toronto Film Festival 2017 Unveils Strong Slate ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 25, 2017. Jump up ^ Lussier, Germain ( December 6, 2017 ). `` The Shape of Water Novel Does Much, Much More Than Adapt the Movie ''. io9. Gawker Media. Retrieved February 23, 2018. Jump up ^ Kiang, Jessica ( August 31, 2017 ). `` Guillermo Del Toro 's ' The Shape of Water ' Is Sweet & Scary Movie Magic ( Venice Review ) ''. The Playlist. Retrieved September 7, 2017. Jump up ^ `` AFI Awards 2017 ''. American Film Institute. Retrieved December 8, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Academy Award Winners 2018 : The Complete List ''. Variety. Penske Business Media. March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Phillips, Michael ( March 5, 2018 ). `` Oscars can still surprise us ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 5, 2018. Jump up ^ Rubin, Rebecca ( December 11, 2017 ). `` Golden Globe Nominations : Complete List ''. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved December 11, 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Shape of Water leads Bafta nominations ''. BBC News. BBC. January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2018. Jump up ^ del Toro, Guillermo ( @ RealGDT ) ( August 22, 2017 ). `` Shape of Water - first birthed over a looong breakfast with @ DanielDKraus in 2011. It shows next week at the Venice Film Festival '' ( Tweet ). Retrieved August 25, 2017 -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ `` Is ' The Shape of Water ' Cribbed Directly From the Short Film ' The Space Between Us ' ? ''. AwardsWatch. August 18, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Iconic Horror Movie Scene That Inspired ' The Shape of Water ' -- Bloody Disgusting ''. bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Del Toro Talks Black Lagoon Influence On `` Shape '' ``. darkhorizons.com. Retrieved November 20, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Bennett, Haley ( December 15, 2017 ). `` ' Review : The Shape of Water ' Mermaid film noir sounds like a fishy genre, but director Guillermo del Toro navigates it with skill ''. Minnesota Daily. Retrieved December 15, 2017. Jump up ^ del Toro, Guillermo ( @ RealGDT ) ( August 10, 2016 ). `` We start shooting The Shape of Water on Monday. I will tweet some images now and then -- '' ( Tweet ) -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ Evry, Max ( August 15, 2016 ). `` Shape of Water : Guillermo del Toro Begins Production ''. Comingsoon.net. Retrieved May 17, 2017. Jump up ^ del Toro, Guillermo ( @ RealGDT ) ( August 15, 2016 ). `` 4 PM in Toronto. Started '' ( Tweet ) -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ `` Guillermo Del Toro 's staff plan Hamilton visit to talk film studio locations : mayor ''. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. September 13, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` All the Toronto locations that show up in Guillermo del Toro 's The Shape of Water ''. Toronto Life Magazine. January 9, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018. Jump up ^ del Toro, Guillermo ( @ RealGDT ) ( November 7, 2016 ). `` Wrapped shooting on The Shape of Water last night ! ! '' ( Tweet ) -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ Marotta, Jenna ( November 19, 2017 ). `` Guillermo del Toro : ' The Shape of Water ' Saved My Life ''. IndieWire. Retrieved December 10, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Guillermo del Toro 's The Shape of Water Finds A Composer ''. Wegotthiscovered.com. December 27, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2017. Jump up ^ McNary, Dave. `` Guillermo del Toro 's ' Shape of Water ' Gets Awards Season Release Date ''. Variety. Retrieved April 19, 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Shape of Water Blu - Ray & DVD ''. Amazon. Retrieved March 26, 2018. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony ( December 24, 2017 ). `` Last Jedi ' Lords Over Christmas Weekend B.O. With $100 M+ As ' Jumanji ' Roars $65 M+ & ' Pitch Perfect 3 ' Sings $27 M ''. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 24, 2017. Jump up ^ Anthony D'Alessandro ( December 31, 2017 ). `` ' Last Jedi ' Has Upper Hand Over ' Jumanji ' In New Year 's Weekend Duel As 2017 B.O. Closes With $11.1 B -- Monday Update ''. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 1, 2018. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony ( January 28, 2018 ). `` Fox Controls Close To 40 % Of Weekend B.O. Led By ' Maze Runner ' & Oscar Holdovers ; ' Hostiles ' Gallops Past $10 M ''. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 28, 2018. Jump up ^ Anthony D'Alessandro ( March 11, 2018 ). `` ' Black Panther ' Rules 4th Frame With $41 M+ ; ' A Wrinkle In Time ' At $33 M+ : A Diversity & Disney Dominant Weekend ''. Deadline.com. Retrieved March 11, 2018. Jump up ^ `` The Shape of Water ( 2017 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 23, 2018. Jump up ^ `` The Shape of Water Reviews ''. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 10, 2018. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony ( December 8, 2017 ). `` ' Coco ' Topping Another Sleepy Weekend Of Holdovers & Awards Season Breakouts Before ' Last Jedi ' Takes Over B.O. '' Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 11, 2017. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony ( January 29, 2018 ). `` How Much Of A Box Office Boost Will The Nominees Get By Oscar Night ? ''. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 30, 2018. Jump up ^ Croll, Ben ( August 31, 2017 ). `` The Shape of Water Review : Guillermo del Toro 's Lush Fairy Tale Is a Powerful Vision of Love ''. Indiewire. Retrieved September 7, 2017. Jump up ^ Travers, Peter ( November 27, 2017 ). `` ' The Shape of Water ' Review : Guillermo del Toro 's Girl - Meets - Monster Romance Is a Gem ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 28, 2017. Jump up ^ Reed, Rex ( December 19, 2017 ). `` One Star : The Shape of Water Is a Loopy, Lunkheaded Load of Drivel ''. New York Observer. Retrieved January 7, 2018. Jump up ^ Sharf, Zack ( December 20, 2017 ). `` Rex Reed 's Negative ' The Shape of Water ' Review Goes Viral After Crediting Benicio del Toro as Director ''. IndieWire. Retrieved March 5, 2018. Jump up ^ Dietz, Jason ( December 5, 2017 ). `` Best of 2017 : Film Critic Top Ten Lists ''. Metacritic. Retrieved January 30, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Are the Canadian Screen Awards too Canadian ? ''. Toronto Star, March 8, 2018. Jump up ^ `` ' Shape Of Water ' Creators Sued Over Plagiarism Claims As Oscars Approach ''. Jump up ^ Eliza Berman, Everything to Know About the Shape of Water Plagiarism Controversy, Time ( March 1, 2018 ). Jump up ^ Colin Dwyer ( February 23, 2018 ). `` ' Shape of Water ' Creators Sued Over Plagiarism Claims As Oscars Approach ''. NPR. External links Find more aboutThe Shape of Waterat Wikipedia 's sister projects Quotations from Wikiquote Data from Wikidata Official website The Shape of Water on IMDb The Shape of Water at Rotten Tomatoes The Shape of Water at Metacritic Guillermo del Toro Filmography Unrealized projects Awards and nominations Films Directed Doña Lupe ( short ; 1985 ) Geometria ( short ; 1987 ) Cronos ( 1993 ) Mimic ( 1997 ) The Devil 's Backbone ( 2001 ) Blade II ( 2002 ) Hellboy ( 2004 ) Pan 's Labyrinth ( 2006 ) Hellboy II : The Golden Army ( 2008 ) Pacific Rim ( 2013 ) Crimson Peak ( 2015 ) The Shape of Water ( 2017 ) Written only Do n't Be Afraid of the Dark ( 2010 ) The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey ( 2012 ) The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug ( 2013 ) The Hobbit : The Battle of the Five Armies ( 2014 ) Produced only Crónicas ( 2004 ) Insignificant Things ( 2008 ) Rudo y Cursi ( 2008 ) Julia 's Eyes ( 2010 ) Do n't Be Afraid of the Dark ( 2010 ) The Book of Life ( 2014 ) Pacific Rim Uprising ( 2018 ) Novels The Strain ( 2009 ) The Fall ( 2010 ) The Night Eternal ( 2011 ) Trollhunters ( 2015 ) Television `` Treehouse of Horror XXIV '' ( 2013 ; opening sequence ) The Strain ( 2014 -- 17 ) `` Night Zero '' Tales of Arcadia Trollhunters ( 2016 -- present ) 3 Below ( 2018 ) Wizards ( 2019 ) Video games Hellboy : The Science of Evil ( 2008 ) P.T. ( 2014 ) Death Stranding ( TBA ) Sundown ( canceled ) Insane ( canceled ) Silent Hills ( canceled ) Related articles Cha Cha Cha Films Mirada Studios The Hobbit ( film series ) Awards for The Shape of Water Academy Award for Best Picture 1927 / 28 -- 1950 Wings ( 1927 / 28 ) The Broadway Melody ( 1928 / 29 ) All Quiet on the Western Front ( 1929 / 30 ) Cimarron ( 1930 / 31 ) Grand Hotel ( 1931 / 32 ) Cavalcade ( 1932 / 33 ) It Happened One Night ( 1934 ) Mutiny on the Bounty ( 1935 ) The Great Ziegfeld ( 1936 ) The Life of Emile Zola ( 1937 ) You Ca n't Take It with You ( 1938 ) Gone with the Wind ( 1939 ) Rebecca ( 1940 ) How Green Was My Valley ( 1941 ) Mrs. Miniver ( 1942 ) Casablanca ( 1943 ) Going My Way ( 1944 ) The Lost Weekend ( 1945 ) The Best Years of Our Lives ( 1946 ) Gentleman 's Agreement ( 1947 ) Hamlet ( 1948 ) All the King 's Men ( 1949 ) All About Eve ( 1950 ) 1951 -- 1975 An American in Paris ( 1951 ) The Greatest Show on Earth ( 1952 ) From Here to Eternity ( 1953 ) On the Waterfront ( 1954 ) Marty ( 1955 ) Around the World in 80 Days ( 1956 ) The Bridge on the River Kwai ( 1957 ) Gigi ( 1958 ) Ben - Hur ( 1959 ) The Apartment ( 1960 ) West Side Story ( 1961 ) Lawrence of Arabia ( 1962 ) Tom Jones ( 1963 ) My Fair Lady ( 1964 ) The Sound of Music ( 1965 ) A Man for All Seasons ( 1966 ) In the Heat of the Night ( 1967 ) Oliver ! 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Question: what is the storyline of the movie shape of water
Answer: follows a mute custodian at a high-security government laboratory who falls in love with a captured humanoid amphibian creature