ONDINE
Ireland, 2010, 111 minutes, Colour.
Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Dervla Kirwan, Tony Curran, Stephen Rea, Alison Barry, Emile Hostina.
Directed by Neil Jordan.
The story of Ondine is the old fairy tale of the mermaid saved by a fisherman.
Neil Jordan has gone back to Ireland, where he made his first feature, Angel, almost thirty years ago, and found a way to bring the fairy tale into today's world and give it a wry twist.
This is west coast Ireland, the water, the docks, the village, the hills, a beautiful if sometimes rugged Ireland.
Syracuse (abbreviated to Sircus by the townspeople because of his drinking and being considered something of a clown) has been off the drink for a while but begins to doubt his senses when he finds a drowned women in his trawling net. She does not die. Rather, she revives and depends on Syracuse while wanting no-one to know she is there. Later, someone will speculate that she is illegal.
Annie, Syracuse's daughter who lives with her mother and her mother's boyfriend, suffers from kidney failure. She loves her father who takes her to her dialysis appointments. And he tries to tell her stories. And one about a woman fished from the sea. Annie, who is very well read and uses a quotidian and sometimes erudite vocabulary, thinks of this women as a mythical Irish seal creature, a Selkie, but is down-to-earth enough to go and find the women, who says her name is Ondine.
What follows is a mixture of the faerie and the realistic, with Syracuse still wondering if Ondine is really real. She is soon discovered and has the whole town talking. Syracuse does his talking in the confessional to the local priest (Stephen Rea who makes him a decent and humane priest), not confessing but wanting the confidentiality.
The idyll is too good to last, despite its lyrical moments, and Ondine's past comes to take her back. Quite a few plot developments, some melodramatic, some sad, before some kind of closure can be achieved and, maybe, the fairy tale can come true.
Colin Farrell shows again how versatile an actor he can be and makes Syracuse quite believable. Alison Barry (Annie) had never acted before. Alicja Bachleda (Trade and some Polish and German films) is Ondine and Irish stalwart, Dervla Kirwan, (especially from TV's Ballykissangel days – in which Colin Farrell appeared – is Syracuse's alcoholic wife).
1.The story of Ondine? The mermaid story, the classic, from the sea, on the land, the vengeance against the husband? The role of the woman? Love, spells, remaining on land?
2.The comparison with the Selkie myths, the seals, the women, coming on land? Transformations?
3.The updating of the legends, the modern story, the fairy tale and real life?
4.The west coast of Ireland, the sea, the boats, the docks, the town, houses, the countryside? The Irish tones for the score?
5.Colin Farrell as Syracuse, the nickname of Sircus? The reasons, his drinking, loner, the story of his drinking and his relationship, with Maura, with Annie? Annie’s health, going to the dialysis appointments, telling her stories, taking her to the cottage? A loser, his name, wanting to be called Syracuse? His skill in fishing, trawling, catching Ondine? Believing her story or not, thinking it might be his imagination because of the drink? Bringing her back to life, helping her, talk, her name, loss of memory? Taking her to his mother’s cottage, settling her there, care for her, talk, telling Annie the story about the mermaid?
6.Annie, her love for her father, her illness, the doctors, the dialysis, listening to the story? Suspecting it to be true? At home with her mother, her mother’s drinking, Alex as the stepfather, his gifts? Going to school, library, searching for books on the Selkies (and Syracuse later looking for them)? Her extensive vocabulary? To the cottage, finding Ondine, talking, learning how to swim? The fair and the regatta, her wheelchair, the taunts of the other children, going into the water, the rescue? Her mother and the accident, Alex’s death?
7.Ondine as a person, in the net, loss of memory, saying her mythical name? Relying on Syracuse yet a strong character? Staying in the cottage, helped, going to buy the clothes? Annie finding her? People seeing her, the gossip, part of life in the town, ordinary? The relationship with Syracuse? The Romanian background, the drug mule, putting the drugs in the water, her going overboard? Her being upset with Syracuse drunk, the reaction, swimming, on the island, rescued? The truth and the confrontation with Vlad, going to the cottage, her being a hostage, the shooting? Her pushing Vlad overboard? The end, the wedding – and her not being deported?
8.Maura, her drinking, a poor mother, taunting Syracuse, living with the boyfriend? Irresponsibility? Taunting Syracuse, going to the dance, the accident, in hospital, Alex’s death, the wake, wanting to toast Alex, pressurising Syracuse to drink?
9.Syracuse at the regatta, the possibilities with Ondine, the relationship, the accident, the wake, his drinking, his reaction to the drink, coming to his senses, alienating Ondine, rescuing her?
10.The priest, Syracuse going to the confessional, wanting to talk, the confidentiality of confession, explanations of everything he had done, the priest as a person, sympathetic listening, sound advice, the pastoral concern, the conduct of the funeral? Jogging and finding Syracuse up the tree?
11.The cottage, Ondine as hostage, the guns, the boat, Vlad going into the sea?
12.Annie, burying the bag, digging it up, Ondine not able to find it, the drug money? Future security?
13.The wedding, Syracuse and Ondine happy ever after?
14.The town, life on the west coast, fishing, the bar, the dance, homes?
15.The reality of drugs, the intrusion of this modern story in modern Ireland into the fairy tale?
