Ondine
Director: Neil Jordan
Year Released: 2009
Rating: 3.0
An Irish fisherman (Colin Farrell) nets a beautiful woman (Alicja Bachleda) on one of his expeditions and his daughter - struggling with kidney disease - believes the woman is actually a Selkie, or a mythical seal who became a human. The fantasy aspects work nicely for acts one and two before act three introduces realism into the movie (it turns out she's not a sea creature, but a drug mule who just so happens to be skilled at swimming) which more or less ends it on a down note - it might have been better off had it kept its magical realism in place before moving into more sinister territory, exposing plot holes and transforming it into a different movie. Still, Farrell is fine as a believably loving father who also happens to be a recovering alcoholic (hold back on those snarky comments) and cinematographer Christopher Doyle lovingly captures the Irish coast. Quaint, simple, sweet.
