The Rectangular View

I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing is one of those films that grabs you and doesn’t let go. Sheila McCarthy is perfect as Polly Vandersma, a young woman prone to daydreaming who wanders through life, taking it all in. She meanders through the city photographing things she likes, developing the pictures, and then hanging them in her apartment. She also likes to daydream, and imagines herself flying, climbing glass skyscrapers, and having intelligent conversations. She’s also too scatterbrained to hold down a job, so she works for temp agency, moving from one job to another.

The temp agency lands her at a job as a secretary for a private art gallery owned by Gabrielle, played by Paule Baillargeon. Gabrielle is tall, sophisticated, smart, and doesn’t seem to mind Polly’s quirks and poor typing skills. And Polly seems pleasantly shocked when Gabrielle asks if she wants to continue working for her part-time. Even if Polly is a bit of a free spirit, even she knows how unemployable she is.

As you can imagine, Polly is quickly enamored by Gabrielle, who seems to enjoy Polly’s care-free way of looking at the world, and the two become friendly.

The plot thickens when a young artist, Mary, played by Ann-Marie MacDonald, comes to visit. Polly discovers that Gabrielle and Mary are lovers, and that Gabrielle’s one disappointment in life is that she’ll never be a great painter. While the lesbianism isn’t a plot point, the fact that Gabrielle feels disappointed in her inability to create something beautiful is. This truly shows the difference between two women and how they look at art. Polly’s gallery is in her apartment, where her photographs are hung solely for her enjoyment, and Gabrielle’s is the art gallery, open for the world to inspect.

To tell any more would be to ruin it. When you boil this movie down, it’s a delightful coming-of-age story. And with these types of stories, something happens that forces the main character to see the world differently and grow.

The first time I saw this movie was in 1988, so I watched it again with my husband hoping it would be everything I’d remembered, and it was. Patricia Rozema’s directing and script, the cinematography, pacing, and McCarthy’s acting are so perfect that this movie can do no wrong. Take some time to see I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing and prepare to be enchanted.