The Shape Of Water: The 10 Best Quotes, Ranked

The fact that Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe all point to the fact that it might be the director’s best movie so far. Hailed as a moving fairy tale for adults, the movie tells a story of a girl who cannot speak falling in love with a humanoid amphibian (and possibly a god) from the Amazon River.

While the evil characters have a voice, most good characters don’t – either figuratively or literally: we have the heroine, Elisa, a girl with a mundane life, and her two best friends, a closeted gay man Giles and a Black co-worker Zelda. While their lines are some of the most remarkable in the entire movie, the evil characters said a few note-worthy things as well.

10 “This May Very Well Be The Most Sensitive Asset Ever To Be Housed In This Facility.”

Even those who only watched the official trailer will recognize this quote by Fleming, the laboratory’s head of security. The quote serves to remind everybody that this creature we are about to meet is extraordinary both for us as for the characters in the movie.

The humanoid creature with gills is actually called the Asset or the Amphibian Man. The name explains his function: he is to be used to an advantage to the Americans during the Cold War.

9 “What Am I Doing Interviewing The F*cking Help?”

In TheShape of Water, Michael Shannon played yet another villain, Col. Richard Strickland. The movie is often described as a fairytale for adults and it’s true: the contrast between good and evil is as stark as it gets. Strickland was in charge of supervising the Amphibian Man and he liked to torture it in order to keep him obedient. Similarly, he treated Elisa and Zelda with absolutely no respect.

This quote clearly illustrated that Strickland lacked humanity. He also called the two women “sh*t cleaners” and “piss wipers.”

8 “You Got To Go Now And You Got To Take That Thing With You.”

Here is a fun behind the scene fact: Octavia Spencer would have taken any role that Guillermo Del Toro would offer her because she is such a huge fan. “Elisa, honey. He’s coming for you. You got to go now and you got to take that thing with you,” her character Zelda told Elisa when the time to help the Amphibian Man was running out.

Shape of Water remains one of the best Octavia Spencer movies. Even though she didn’t have a lot of screen time, her character stands out as one of the most important ones. After all, Zelda was Elisa’s only friend besides Giles.

7 “You Don’t Think That’s What The Lord Looks Like, Do You?”

Strickland was a cruel man, and to make things even worse, a hypocrite. He even referenced God to justify mistreating the Amphibian Man. “You may think that thing looks human. It stands on two legs, right? But we’re created in the Lord’s image. You don’t think that’s what the Lord looks like, do you?”

The Amphibian Man is considered one of the best brand new monsters in the last decade. Not all monsters are out there for blood, though. This creature was as peaceful as it gets.

6 “I Don’t Want An Intricate Beautiful Thing Destroyed!”

Dr. Robert Hoffstetler was a Soviet spy who was studying the Amphibian Man. He wasn’t an antagonist character, though. He understood that the Asset is a sentient being and that it would be a tragedy if he died. Hoyt wanted to dissect it, so Hoffstetler decided to help Elisa save the captive.

5 “This Creature Is Intelligent, Capable Of Language, Of Understanding Emotions.”

Another gem from Dr. Robert Hoffstetler points out just how amazing the Amphibian Man is. Elisa doesn’t speak, so Hoffstetler becomes the only character who speaks up for him. He deemed him “intelligent, capable of language, of understanding emotions.”

People often think that other creatures don’t emote or think just because there is no insight into how their minds work. Elisa spent time with the water-bound creature and she saw that he is very much his own personality.

4 “If We Do Nothing, Neither Are We.”

The movie explores what it means to be human. When Elisa’s friend Giles objects to helping her get him out of the facility, he says “Oh God, it’s not even human …” to which Elisa replies: “If we do nothing, neither are we.”

Sally Hawking had barely any lines in the movie and those few that she had, she couldn’t utter, since Elisa speech disability. TheShape of Water isn’t even her best movie and it’s amazing!

3 “He’s A Wild Creature. We Can’t Ask Him To Be Anything Else.”

Giles was Elisa’s lonely closeted neighbor who worked as an illustrator. He didn’t really understand Elisa’s infatuation with the Amphibian Man at first: “He’s a wild creature,” he emphasized.

Later on, he found the two lovers locked in his bathroom and he seemed to be in awe of what he saw when he opened the door and the water came rushing out. He was ultimately touched by their romance.

2 “Unable To Perceive The Shape Of You, I Find You All Around Me.”

The last lines in the movie are spoken by Giles. Recalling Elisa and the Amphibian Man, he quoted an anonymous love poem: “Unable to perceive the shape of you, I find you all around me. Your presence fills my eyes with your love. It humbles my heart, for you are everywhere.”

The audience is led to believe that the two lived happily ever after and that they remain in love for the rest of their lives.

1 “He Does Not Know What I Lack Or How I Am Incomplete. He Sees Me For What I Am, As I Am.”

The most touching quote of the movie has to be Elisa’s “When he looks at me, the way he looks at me. He does not know what I lack or how I am incomplete. He sees me for what I am, as I am.”

She went through life feeling like somewhat of an outsider. She was mostly defined by her inability to speak rather than her other personality traits, which made for a very tragic existence. She found someone who saw her for who she was in the Amphibian Man.

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