Parents' Guide to

The Shape of Water

Movie R 2017 119 minutes
The Shape of Water Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson By Jeffrey M. Anderson , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 16+

Compassionate monster movie/love story has mature content.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 16+?

Any Positive Content?

  • 1:14
  • The Shape of Water Movie: Elisa and the Amphibian Man
  • The Shape of Water Movie: Elisa and Zelda are questioned
  • The Shape of Water Movie: Strickland talks to a scientist

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 16+

Based on 49 parent reviews

Matthew Payne
Matthew Payne Adult
December 1, 2018
age 17+

This is a Beautiful Unconvientional Fairy Tale Romance that is obviously for adults. People on here complaining about the nudity and sexuality obviously need to review the MPAA's rating system and what it's purpose is. Contrary to what many on here are saying, the Sexuality and Nudity are anything but gratuitous and unnecessary, and actually help establish with the audience the deep connection these charaters have made in such a short time.

brig wood
brig wood Adult
October 24, 2018
age 15+

wonderful film

I don't wish to add too much other than it really is a fantastic film; yes - it has sex in it and so yes, you'll have to use discretion when deciding who can/can't watch it in your family - but wow! half of the reviewers here sound like something from a comedy parodying the 1950's small town morality bigade ... "such filth might encourage impure thoughts ... please ... think of the children!! talk about hell-fire and brimstone. Maybe it's an american thing (I'm not from there so ... ?)
See all 49 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE SHAPE OF WATER, mute Elisa (Sally Hawkins) works nights as a cleaning lady for an aerospace research center in the early 1960s. She and her talkative best friend, Zelda (Octavia Spencer), start cleaning one of the rooms and discover some kind of non-human being (Doug Jones) in a tank full of water. Finding herself drawn to him, Elisa keeps visiting, bringing him hard-boiled eggs and playing music. But since the cruel, vicious Colonel Strickland (Michael Shannon) violently treats the creature as an enemy, Elisa decides to break him out. She enlists the aid of her loyal next-door neighbor, commercial artist Giles (Richard Jenkins), and is unexpectedly helped by scientist Hoffstetler (Michael Stuhlbarg), who doesn't want to see the creature killed and dissected. With the creature living in her bathtub, Elisa realizes that she must free him. But does she have enough time? And what's the secret of their mysterious connection?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (49 ):
Kids say (31 ):

Fantastic director Guillermo Del Toro clearly put everything he had into this wonderful monster movie/romance, from a beautiful, labyrinthian visual scheme to a powerful story of love and empathy. Certainly The Shape of Water comes from a strange idea, but it's so lovely and so open-hearted that it never steps wrong. Given that it's structured, like Del Toro's own Pan's Labyrinth, as a kind of fairy tale, viewers may notice that it's easy to see where the story is going, but The Shape of Water is less about the payoff, or even the mystery, than it is about simply connecting.

It's interesting that Del Toro spends time focusing on other connections in the story, from husband-and-wife relationships to a spurned crush. And even the friendship between Elisa and Zelda -- one never speaking, the other always speaking -- is amusingly off-kilter. The movie seems to be saying that as long as something feels real, then it is real. The characters are supported by the brilliant set designs, which frame characters in unique and specific ways. There's also a striking use of the color green, as well as thematic uses of water (for cooking, bathing, as a force for destruction, etc.). All in all, The Shape of Water is one of Del Toro's absolute best movies.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about The Shape of Water's violence. How much is shown? Does it feel surprising or out of place in a movie that could otherwise seem like a gentle fairy tale? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • What's the difference between the characters' motivations and their methods? What bad or violent things happen while they try to do good things? Are they admirable just the same? How does the movie demonstrate the importance of compassion?

  • How are sex and nudity depicted? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

  • How does the movie generate sympathy for a monster over sympathy for certain humans? How does this idea relate to real life?

  • Do you consider the movie to be a fairy tale? Why or why not?

Movie Details

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