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The opening shot of this film is breathtaking: taking in the lush, mist-shrouded hills of Ireland before following a small fishing boat out across the grey ocean. I had never realised that grey could be so captivating, and I was still drinking it in when the boat's nets disgorged a woman onto the deck.
The fisherman, Syracuse (Colin Farrell), takes her home, hides and clothes her and slowly falls in love with this mysterious woman from the sea. The wonderful landscapes combined with the magical, whimsical atmosphere of the film sucked me in and made it easy to believe that she could be some sort of fairytale creature. A twist near the end marks a sharp change in mood to the story, however, rather jarringly bringing it closer to thriller territory.
As is to be expected, Farrell gives a brilliant performance as the lonely, ex-alcoholic Syracuse. His accent is absolutely gorgeous, and he manages to make his character entirely relatable. Ondine, the sea woman, is perhaps the weakest element in this film - she's beautiful, but her character seems underdeveloped and rather flat. Often, her main role in the film seemed to be to pout and drift around in skimpy outfits rather than becoming a well-fleshed out character.
Far more engaging was the interaction between Syracuse and his crippled daughter Anne (Alison Barry). Anne was the real star of the film for me: she strikes a perfect balance between precociousness and naivety, with many endearing and amusing lines throughout the film. Her classmates' treatment of her is cruel without being melodramatically so, while her reactions to her father's storytelling add some enjoyable humour to the story. Another minor character deserving of a mention is the priest (Stephen Rea), and Syracuse's frequent confessions to him are another source of comedy. Despite its flaws, I found Ondine to be a very enjoyable way to spend away a grey Saturday afternoon. The stunning scenery, winding plot and admirable performances combine to give a gritty modern fairytale which I greatly enjoyed losing myself in. That said, however, the film is far from a masterpiece and I can easily see many people hating it.
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