I've Heard the Mermaids Singing

R

Now Playing

1h 21m

Comedy

Drama

LGBTQ+

TRAILER

for I've Heard the Mermaids Singing: Re-Release Trailer

List

94%

Tomatometer

16 Reviews

67%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

A charming and whimsical story about a daydreamer with artistic aspirations, Patricia Rozema's fanciful character study follows an amateur photographer Polly (Sheila McCarthy) as she lands a temp job at a Toronto art gallery run by elegant and sophisticated Gabrielle (Paule Baillargeon), who is also a painter. Polly is impressed with Gabrielle's paintings, but as Polly gets to know Gabrielle's lover, Mary (Ann-Marie MacDonald), and becomes entangled in their lives, she realizes that Gabrielle isn't exactly who she appears to be. The absent-minded temp with spiky orange hair and the polished curator with a gift for gab are like night and day, yet a strong connection builds between these two women through their shared love of art, and their genuine curiosity and need for love.

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

The unruly spirit of artistic creation gets a bittersweet comedic workout in “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing"...

Aug 1, 2022

Full Review

Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Swift, witty and intimate, it is an amazingly confident first feature that reveals with exquisite humor and compassion the pitfalls in a relationship between two radically different women.

Mar 16, 2022

Full Review

Bob Thomas

Associated Press

[Rozema's] vivid and surprising imagination, coupled with a startlingly original performance by Sheila McCarthy, help make the film a rare and unexpected delight.

Jul 25, 2019

Full Review

Bernard Welt

Washington Blade

A small-is-beautiful triumph of craft, charm, and substance over the usual Hollywood glitz.

May 24, 2022

Full Review

David Bax

Battleship Pretension

Rozema and McCarthy tenderly but incisively capture the feeling of being a shy person whose inner life is more rewarding and engaging than their outer one.

Mar 24, 2022

Full Review

Susan Jhirad

Sojourner

Is testimony to what women filmmakers can do on a shoestring.

Aug 28, 2019

Full Review

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Audience Member

More Hollywood wish-list. Waste of money.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

loved it very good movie loved Robert Pattison and all the other great actors

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/09/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Worst movie I ever saw. There were only about 6 people in the theatre & we all sat in our seats at the end expecting some kind of conclusion that never materialized. We all left dumbfounded & wanting a refund for time we'll never get back. I suppose if you're a hoidy toidy art critic it would be wierd & boring enough to get 5 stars.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

simon d

This was supposed to be a comedy. It's about as funny as a stubbed toe and the acting is awful too. I think they tried to spice up this spectacularly dull story with some quirky daydream sequences. It didn't work.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

it has its moments and its well filmed but overall the story seemed pretty pointless.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

the funniest comedy I have ever seen. I have never laughed harder.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

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Patricia Rozema

Director

Sheila McCarthy

Polly Vandersma

Paule Baillargeon

Gabrielle St. Peres

Ann-Marie MacDonald

Mary Joseph

Richard Monette

Clive

John Evans

Warren

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I've Heard the Mermaids Singing: Re-Release Trailer

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Synopsis

A charming and whimsical story about a daydreamer with artistic aspirations, Patricia Rozema's fanciful character study follows an amateur photographer Polly (Sheila McCarthy) as she lands a temp job at a Toronto art gallery run by elegant and sophisticated Gabrielle (Paule Baillargeon), who is also a painter. Polly is impressed with Gabrielle's paintings, but as Polly gets to know Gabrielle's lover, Mary (Ann-Marie MacDonald), and becomes entangled in their lives, she realizes that Gabrielle isn't exactly who she appears to be. The absent-minded temp with spiky orange hair and the polished curator with a gift for gab are like night and day, yet a strong connection builds between these two women through their shared love of art, and their genuine curiosity and need for love.

Director: Patricia Rozema
Producer: Alexandra Raffe, Patricia Rozema
Screenwriter: Patricia Rozema
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: National Film Board of Canada, Ontario Film Development Corporation
Rating: R (Brief Strong Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 1, 1987, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Mar 11, 2022
Release Date (DVD): Jan 13, 2004
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.9K
Runtime: 1h 21m
Sound Mix: Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)

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