『🌿 The Subtle Relationships Between Women Who Discover Art and Themselves Through a Pure Gaze』
🎥 Film Overview
🎬 Title: I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987)
🌍 Country: 🇨🇦 Canada
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Comedy / Queer
🗓️ Production & Release: Patricia Rozema Productions, 1987
⏳ Runtime: Approx. 87 minutes
📢 Director: Patricia Rozema
🖋️ Screenplay: Patricia Rozema
📺 Platform: Available on select streaming platforms and DVD
👩💼 Cast: Sheila McCarthy – Polly Vandersma
Paule Baillargeon – Gabrielle St. Peres
Ann-Marie MacDonald – Mary Joseph
🧩 In-depth Story Analysis (Spoilers)
📸 Admiration and Idealization
The feelings Polly develops toward Gabrielle begin with pure admiration.
- Gabrielle’s Image: In Polly’s eyes, Gabrielle is the epitome of the perfect figure in the art world. She’s sophisticated, intellectual, and a successful curator and painter. Rumors that her family gained wealth through the Swiss chocolate industry, and the refined ambiance of her gallery, represent an idealized world that starkly contrasts Polly’s modest daily life. Polly even refers to her as "The Curator," harboring feelings bordering on worship.
- Polly’s Aspiration: Polly, who is awkward and "systematically clumsy," lacks social standing and self-assurance. Through Gabrielle, she projects an image of the person she wants to become—cultured and meaningful. Polly longs to connect with Gabrielle through their shared love of art. This admiration subtly contains the beginnings of romantic (queer) desire and becomes the main force driving Polly’s yearning for Gabrielle’s recognition and affection.
🪞 Similarities and Contrasts
Though the two women appear to be polar opposites on the surface, they share surprising commonalities.
- Polly Vandersma comes across as socially awkward, somewhat dowdy, and inexperienced. However, her artistic vision is deeply rooted in a pure passion, focusing on photography for personal fulfillment rather than for external validation. Despite her clumsy exterior, she possesses a rich imagination, sincerity, and emotional depth.
- As a curator, Gabrielle St. Peres appears poised, elegant, and confident—everything Polly idolizes. However, her view of art is largely commercial; she seeks fame and market value. Beneath her polished surface lies dissatisfaction and insecurity stemming from the fact that she never became the great painter she wanted to be, hinting at her sophistication being a facade for vanity and hypocrisy.
- Contrast: Polly’s innocence accentuates Gabrielle’s cynical and materialistic perspective on art. While Gabrielle measures artistic value by social recognition and profit, Polly finds joy in the art itself.
- Hidden Similarities: Yet Gabrielle, too, needs external validation—so much so that she commits fraud by passing off her lover Mary’s paintings as her own. Like Polly, she struggles with the gap between her true self and the self she aspires to be. This internal conflict creates a profound, if unspoken, connection between the two women.
💥 Betrayal and Revelation
The relationship reaches a breaking point when Polly discovers Gabrielle’s deceit.
- Sense of Betrayal: Polly is devastated when she sees Gabrielle presenting Mary’s paintings as her own and receiving praise from critics. The ‘perfect artist’ Polly admired turns out to be built on lies and vanity. This shatters everything Polly had idealized.
- Explosion: In a burst of anger, Polly throws tea at Gabrielle. This act is more than just an outburst—it’s a symbolic act of purity resisting hypocrisy. By turning away from Gabrielle, Polly also rejects her desire to mimic a sophisticated lifestyle, instead choosing to protect her own values.
👩🎓 Establishing Identity
The relationship becomes a turning point for Polly, enabling her to break free from illusions and establish a genuine sense of self.
- Gabrielle’s Role: To Polly, Gabrielle represented the hollow standards of success and refinement shaped by others. Becoming disillusioned with Gabrielle allows Polly to stop seeking external approval and instead trust in her own artistic authenticity and inner voice.
- The True Echo: In the final scene, Gabrielle and Mary are shown being emotionally moved by Polly’s photographs. This implies that Polly’s humble, sincere art can even touch those within the deceitful art world, delivering genuine emotional impact.
Ultimately, the relationship between Polly and Gabrielle raises the question: Whose voices should we truly listen to? Polly learns to stop listening to worldly idols like Gabrielle, and instead begins to hear the mermaids singing—her own inner voice.
🎯 Personal Rating (Based on Taste)
💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★
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