Mermaid’s Lament is about therapist Nell Jamison, played by Justina Mattos, who tries to help and understand a lost woman who may be a mermaid. Thematically it tackles trauma, recovery, and even a little bit of environmentalism. It was written and directed by G.B. Hajim.

The acting is good, although occasionally inconsistent at points. Dayva Summer Escobar gave my favorite performance as the maybe Mermaid, Oee, because of the additional difficulty of acting underwater. A good underwater performance is always impressive to me. The characters are ok. There are only two worth talking about. Generally, Oee only has two modes, wonder and sadness. Nell is the only character who felt complete, and she becomes an increasingly interesting focal point. Their relationship is good. It evolves fascinatingly. The dialogue is decent.

The runtime is listed as an hour and thirty minutes, but it’s actually an hour and twenty-five before the credits. It doesn’t take up too much time. The cinematography is exceptional. Mermaid’s Lament is gorgeous to look at, and it isn’t afraid to make bold decisions. The audio is even more bold. It is weird, creative, and specific. I highly recommend watching this with headphones on or a good sound system. There is a lot of whimsey here. Scenes are flooded with whimsey. It’s very effective until it isn’t. I’m sure it will vary from person to person, but around the thirty-minute mark, I reached a ceiling on whimsey. It simply wasn’t effective to me anymore, and I suddenly disassociated from what was happening. There were lengthy spans here and there when I was completely indifferent. It had moments that would pull me back in, and after I would immediately be indifferent again. The good news is it absolutely pulled me back in as I came closer to the resolution, and I enjoyed how things wrapped up.

I do think the balance is slightly off. This is ultimately about trauma and anxiety. That’s the medicine. The whimsey is the cheese that is placed over the medicine. This is how people get their dogs to take their worm pills. That’s the idea. I feel like there’s too much cheese. The majority of Mermaid’s Lament is like a whole lot of cheese with some crushed aspirin on top for seasoning, and I know the goal was the opposite. The whimsical mood did prevent many of the serious moments from being as effective as they ought to have been, and I suspect the issue is how quickly it would jump from one to the other. It’s a little bit like watching a Barbie movie (I can say this. I have subjected myself to such movies) if immediately after the shopping spree, Barbie is thinking about cutting herself. That can work, but you have to make sure you pave that road really well. All said, as mentioned above, everything comes together by the end. The effects are practical. They’re decent, although the blood looks somewhat uncanny to me. It is worth noting that some of this is happening underwater. Another film would use CGI and bluescreen effects to do that, and it’s cool that this one doesn’t. There’s a bit of nudity, but nothing sexual.

I have some issues with Mermaid’s Lament. I also think those issues are minor compared to how good the cinematography is, how wonderful the audio is, and how this is utterly unlike anything else I’ve seen. I recommend checking out the trailer, and if it looks like something you might be interested in, go for it.