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Drama, Fantasy, Romance  •  2017  •  123 min  •  Adults (18+)

The Shape of Water (2017)

The Shape of Water poster

The Shape of Water (2017)

Rating & Dimensions

Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Progressive
Political: Strong Left
Diversity: High
LGBTQ: Positive
Christianity: Negative
Viewer Rating
8.1

Overview

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.

Starring Cast

Sally Hawkins  •   Octavia Spencer  •   Michael Shannon

Where to watch

HBO Max logoHBO Max
YouTube logoYouTube
Apple TV logoApple TV
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Detailed Bias Analysis

Analyzing...
Progressive

Primary

Political: Strong Left
Confidence: High

The film's central thesis explicitly promotes progressive ideology by critiquing systemic oppression and the dehumanization of "the other" by dominant power structures, championing radical empathy and liberation through unconventional love.

Diversity: High
Confidence: High

The film prominently features a diverse cast of marginalized characters, including a mute woman, a Black woman, and a gay man, who stand in opposition to a white, male antagonist representing oppressive power. The narrative strongly critiques traditional societal structures and champions empathy for those considered 'other.'

Secondary

LGBTQ: Positive
Confidence: High

The film features Giles, a gay man, depicted with dignity, complexity, and agency. While he experiences prejudice and loneliness, these are framed as external obstacles. His character is empathetic, crucial to the plot, and ultimately affirms the worth of LGBTQ+ lives and love, resulting in a net positive portrayal.

Christianity: Negative
Confidence: Medium

The film portrays Christianity through the antagonist, Richard Strickland, whose rigid, judgmental faith is explicitly linked to his cruelty, bigotry, and hypocrisy. The narrative frames his religious devotion as a source of his oppressive worldview, offering no significant counterbalancing positive portrayal.

Trans: N/A
Confidence: High

The film "The Shape of Water" does not feature any identifiable transsexual characters or themes within its narrative. The story focuses on a mute cleaning woman, her gay neighbor, and an amphibian creature, without exploring transgender identities or experiences. Therefore, an evaluation of its portrayal of transsexual characters is not applicable.

Female Combat: N/R

The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.

Gender Swap: No
Confidence: High

The Shape of Water is an original story with characters created specifically for this film. There is no prior source material, historical basis, or previous installments from which characters' genders could have been established and subsequently altered.

Race Swap: No
Confidence: High

The Shape of Water is an original story with characters created specifically for the film. There is no prior source material, historical record, or previous installment to establish a character's race before this film's production, thus precluding any race swaps.

Viewer Rating Breakdown

8.1

Viewer Rating

Combines user and critic ratings from four sources

User Ratings

IMDB logo
7.3
The Movie Database logo
7.2

Critic Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes logo
9.2
Metacritic logo
8.7

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