Mermaids (film)
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Mermaids is a 1986 novel written by author Patty Dann. The book was her first and won numerous awards.[citation needed] It is narrated by 14-year-old protagonist Charlotte who lives with her mother, Mrs. Flax, and her 8-year-old sister Kate. Mrs. Flax is a sexually promiscuous woman who is constantly getting herself into situations from which she flees by uprooting the family and relocating. Charlotte and Kate have different fathers; Charlotte's left when she was just a girl, while Kate's, an Olympic swimmer, fled before she was born.
The story is told in the first person as the Flaxes move into a new home near a convent. Charlotte, constantly on the search for a religion to follow (the family is Jewish), develops an obsession with Catholicism and decides to be a nun. This is mostly a byproduct of her desperate desire to be different from her mother, and contradictory to her own budding womanly desires. These are particularly strong for the much older and ruggedly handsome Joe, a handyman and schoolbus driver.
The story, set in the 1960s, culminates in Charlotte's ultimate act of rebellion as she and her sister get drunk and head over to the convent. Charlotte makes love to Joe in a church tower and Kate nearly drowns to death in a river running through the property. The tale is a cautionary one, symbolizing mother-daughter relationships and the importance for parents to confess their mistakes so that their children are not doomed to repeat them.
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[edit] Film adaptation
Mermaids is also a 1990 movie directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Cher, Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder (who was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actress for her role), and Christina Ricci in her first film role.
[edit] Cast
- Cher as Rachel Flax
- Bob Hoskins as Lou Landsky
- Winona Ryder as Charlotte Flax
- Michael Schoeffling as Joe Porretti
- Christina Ricci as Kate Flax
- Caroline McWilliams as Carrie
[edit] Trivia
- Winona Ryder replaced Emily Lloyd because it was thought that Lloyd looked too genetically dissimilar to Cher.
- When Charlotte is arguing with her mother after Kate's accident, she gets angry and smashes a dish. The scene ends with Mrs Flax slapping her after a rude comment. There is a simillar scene in Cher's film, Mask.
[edit] Filming locations
- Massachusetts: Cambridge, Manchester, Essex, North Easton, Waltham, Ipswich, Gloucester, Malden and Rockport
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
[edit] Memorable quotes
- Rachel: Charlotte, I know you're planning a celibate life, but with half my chromosomes, I think that might be tough.
- (Charlotte is praying at a shrine she has made in her room to the Virgin Mary.)
- Rachel: Charlotte, we're Jewish.
