Review of Ondine (2010) by Conner R — 23 May 2011

Niel Jordan's take on the fairytale genre is completely the opposite of what you'd expect. Mainly because it doesn't mind being one for the most part. The only real criticism that is given to the Knight in Shining Armor/Damsel in Distress scenario is that everyone has a past; these people had lives before they fell in love.

With Colin Farrell's Syracuse, we basically see his weaknesses from the start, but Ondine's are a lot more misleading and complex. In terms of its physical beauty, Ondine is one powerful looking movie.

The cinematography is either something people will love or hate, but I definitely saw it as a thing of mastery. It does a great job of setting up the mood for the story. The thing about Ondine is that it's a highly optimistic story set in an extremely hopeless world and it's executed in a way that you know that without anyone having to tell you straight out.

The character interaction and development of Syracuse and Ondine's relationship is presented in a completely flawless way. Maybe that is in part due to the fact that Colin Farrell and Alicja Bachleda are so undeniably in love; it's chemistry that you just can't buy.

Now a lot of people might have trouble accepting Ondine for what it is and what it wants to do, but if you take the time to invest into the characters and story it's hard to not be impressed.