Neil Jordan Goes Back to Fantasy with 'Ondine'

Neil Jordan has dabbled in the supernatural before. He'd probably like to forget the maligned Annette Bening thriller In Dreams, but on the other hand Interview with the Vampire is one of his most successful -- and most mainstream -- efforts. After a few more straightforward outings, Jordan will be delving back into fantasy with Ondine, starring Colin Farrell and Mexican-Polish newcomer Alicja Bachleda. Bachleda will play the title character, a mythical sea nymph who gets caught in the net of a fisherman (Farrell) and changes the lives of the people in his Irish town. Jordan wrote the script himself, and the project is set to start shooting next month.

In Dreams notwithstanding, Jordan is a remarkably consistent filmmaker, capable of doing beautiful and subtle things with sometimes schlocky material. Hopefully people are ready to try sea nymphs again after the frustration that was M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water. Ondine sounds more whimsical and playful than Shyamalan's heavy-handed parable.

Bachleda has been acting in Poland since the 90's, but made her American debut in the Kevin Kline sex trafficking movie Trade, which I didn't see (and which I heard was pretty bad). Jordan's last film, the revenge drama The Brave One, was a critical failure but a moderate commercial success. For a while, Jordan was supposed to direct the fantasy thriller Killing on Carnival Row, but it looks like Ondine will be his next project.