This is a very unusual movie, a very dark adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson story "The Little Mermaid", made into a very dark movie with horror elements. It takes place in 1930's America, with the leading character Charlotte, that has some hidden powers. Her Father runs a theater that has a song and dance show, until an evil man comes forth and rescues the business but turns it more into a strip joint and house of pleasure using his daughters. Yes, a very dark movie indeed, but the production and acting is superior and I enjoyed this strange story very much.Yes, Mermaids can be a very strong creature when needed to be, and this movie explores that element. Check it out, I liked it a lot. 4/5
Mermaid's Song
2015
Action / Drama / Fantasy / Horror
Mermaid's Song
2015
Action / Drama / Fantasy / Horror
Keywords: transformationmermaid
Plot summary
An homage to Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid", Done Four Productions' inaugural feature "Charlotte's Song" tells the story of Charlotte (Katelyn Mager),a young girl coming of age in the midst of one of the most desolate and desperate periods in American history. Set in the 1930s Oklahoma Dust Bowl, the untimely death of Charlotte's mother triggers a downward spiral for her father, five sisters and their family-run song and dance act. Help comes from an unlikely source when a gangster named Randall (Iwan Rheon) offers to pay off their debt in exchange for making some unsavoury changes to the family business. Matters are complicated when it is discovered that Charlotte, like her mother before her, is in fact a mermaid capable of controlling humans with her voice. What follows is a sophisticated magical turf war in which antagonists from many camps seek to take advantage of Charlotte's power. The best and worst of humanity are put on display and Charlotte must choose her own path, knowing that the wrong decision will have deadly consequences for herself and the people she loves.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Mermaids are pretty cool to me
Stylish but uninvolving.
A pinch of Del Torro, and a spot of David Lynch, some very competent actors, some nice stylish direction - and the result is inexplicably dull. The fault must lie with the script, which is inconsequential and uninvolving. This - like the occasional sound issues - could be an artistic decision, to elevate the weirdness of the piece, but either way the results are a bit of a chore to watch. In fact - and I don't often use this sentence - the musical numbers are often highpoints.
A lot of effort seems to have gone into this, and budget doesn't appear to be lacking, so I feel I should like it more than I do. Even so, I found it a challenge to stick around until the end. We don't really get to know the characters, or learn what relationship they have with each other, and therefore don't care what happens to most of them.
The plot is hard to fathom, frequently incomprehensible. Again, this could be deliberate, but either way, it alienates the viewer. I couldn't get into this, and didn't know what kind of film it wanted to be. My score is 4 out of 10, which an additional point for the frequently excellent musical score and a finale which goes some way to living up to the promise of the title.
My Review Of "Mermaid's Song"
Nicholas Humphries' fairytale is a dark dabble into a troubled life during a harsher period of American life. The 1930'second was the last great decade of some truly depressing and dark times, a stark reality of the decadent and the derilect- no real rights save for the wealthy, and not much compassion beyond a mother's love (and based on the cap I watched based on the times, even that was a 1 in 5 chance - if you were lucky.) Anyway, "Mermaid's Song" encompasses a slice of that existence, wrapped in a coming of age tale, garnished with a flare of dark fantasy.
The settings and period trappings are nice, well conceived elements that help to really frame what becomes an almost Gothic story. The characters are traditional souls similar to the characters in 'Damnation', a series set in a time just before Nicholas Humphries' story. Most are two-dimensional but the main character, Charlotte and the antagonist, played by Rheon really stand out.
The special effects, although mostly CGI, are quality works that achieve the necessary effect that Humphries is going for. The creature design and transition sequences are cool, entertaining moments. The sound effects and music score are mixed bagged notes that, at times, seem out of place, but for the most part blend nicely with the pace of the story and creates a nice slow stride.
"Mermaid's Song" is marketed toward the horror fan, but it is more of a period drama with dark fantasy edges. The horror elements are mild, however there are moments in the film that explores some elements of sex trafficking, exploitation of women, and child molestation. Still those are mostly insinuated, and never pushed beyond respectability. Just keep in mind that this is no kiddie flick.