YMMV / Ondine

• Alternate Character Interpretation: Given the Contrived Coincidences that abound as a result of Ondine turning out to be not really a selkie, it's possible she could be lying to Syracuse and Annie.
• Awesome Music:
  • Irish singer Lisa Hannigan provides some great music to the soundtrack.
  • Icelandic band Sigor Ros provide a nice song too that is really what Ondine sings to the lobsters.
• Best Known for the Fanservice: One review said of Alicja Bachleda (who was dating Colin Farrell at that point) "it's clear Farrell doesn't love her as much as Jordan's camera does."
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Most viewers love Annie for being a Little Miss Snarker and getting most of the best lines. Alison Barry got lots of praise for her performance.
• Genius Bonus: Ondine is a name for a water nymph or spirit that usually has a beautiful singing voice. There is also a play called Ondine about a medieval romance between a mortal man and said spirit. This one ends less tragically.
• He Really Can Act: Colin Farrell had been suffering from a Hype Backlash due to Hollywood's attempts at making a star out of him in the mid-2000s, and his public drug addiction and partying lifestyle wasn't helping. He starred here in a low budget, homegrown indie film and was noted to work well in an ensemble - in a role that he clearly put a lot of heart into. More superficially, he also nailed the Cork accent.
• Jerkass Woobie: Maura becomes one in the third act when Alex dies in a car accident and she's left on her own.
• Narm Charm: Colin Farrell's heavy Cork accent can lead to some Narm in his more serious moments of dialogue, but not enough to ruin the scenes outright. The fact that the accent is spot-on helps too.
• One-Scene Wonder: Stephen Rea pops up every now and then to deliver some witty lines as the parish priest.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: A few critics felt that the film falls apart after The Reveal, and that it works better as a straight-up fantasy story than trying to rationalise everything. Notably Alex being found to have a perfect match for Annie's kidney turns into a Contrived Coincidence bordering on Ass Pull with the twist.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not Symbolic?: A few have interpreted the twist that Ondine turns out not to be a selkie to be a metaphor for how Ireland has evolved - from a mystical country where people believed in selkies and mythological creatures, to a more modern urbanised area that deals with crime and immigration.

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