Colin Farrell & Alicja Bachleda in the movie Ondine

You know it's an Irish fairy tale when the mists swirl and the sea churns around the harsh beauty of the Emerald Isle. You know it's a Neil Jordan Irish fairy tale when at the center of all that harsh beauty is a family broken apart by alcoholism.

"Ondine" stars Colin Farrell as Syracuse, a local fisherman with a heavy-drinking ex-wife and a spirited daughter on dialysis. Syracuse is long past having dreams when he snares a beautiful woman in his nets, and reality and Irish mythology soon tangle in ways both magical and frustrating.

Nevertheless, there is much to recommend "Ondine," Jordan's love letter to Castletownbere, the Irish village where he lives and shot the film; and the notion that no matter how bruised and battered by life, love is still the answer.

It's a departure for a writer-director who tends toward densely detailed stories stuffed with moral complications, "The Crying Game" and "Mona Lisa" among them. Sometimes, the simplicity of the story confounds him, with young Annie (Alison Barry) saddled with a failing kidney and most of the exposition -- too much to ask of a child.

The woman at the heart of this tale is Ondine, Alicja Bachleda of "Trade," who's perfectly cast as an ethereal creature that may be a selkie -- seals able to transform into seductively gorgeous humans when the circumstances are right.

All Syracuse knows is that Ondine is running from something, that her haunting songs increase his daily catch and that she seems to be falling in love with him. Annie is more interested in a selkie's wish-granting powers, while Syracuse's ex, Maura (Dervla Kirwan), is more concerned with where she's sleeping.

At times, the narrative flows beautifully, particularly in the connection between Syracuse and Ondine. Farrell exposes much with those dark eyes and wary hesitations. It's hard not to wish more filmmakers would tap into that quieter, more vulnerable side.

At other times, the road is rocky when the story speeds up to take care of business, with the end a mad dash to tie up loose ends.

Still, there is enough saving grace to let the mists and the legends roll in and envelop you for a while.

 

MPAA rating: PG-13 (for some violence, sensuality and brief strong language).

Running time: 1:43.

Cast: Colin Farrell (Syracuse); Alicja Bachleda (Ondine); Alison Barry (Annie); Dervla Kirwan (Maura); Stephen Rea (priest).

Credits: Written and directed by Neil Jordan; produced by Jordan, James Flynn and Ben Browning. A Magnolia Pictures release.

The movie ONDINE tells the story of Syracuse, a simple fisherman who catches a beautiful and mysterious woman in his trawler's nets. The woman seems to be dead, but then she comes alive before Syracuse's eyes and he thinks he may be seeing things. However, with the help of his ailing, yet irrepressible daughter, Annie, he comes to believe that the fantastical might be possible and that the woman (Ondine) might be a myth come true. Ondine and Syracuse fall passionately in love, but just as we think the fairytale might go on forever, the real world intercedes. Then, after a terrible car crash and the return of a dark and violent figure from Ondine's past, hope eventually prevails and a new beginning is presented to Syracuse, Ondine and Annie.

Ondine Movie Review - Colin Farrell & Alicja Bachleda