khrysso Reviews

Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing (2004)

A splendid adaptation of an important novel

[10/10 · 24 May 2005]

As a poet, thinker, and diarist myself, I was affected profoundly by May Sarton's novel Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing. I was hoping that I would love the movie as well, and I was not disappointed. Because of the flashback sequences, it is able to tell two stories at once: it captures both the reflectiveness of the poet in the now and the succulent vigor of the young woman she was. In the meantime it reveals the reflectiveness of the younger Hilary and the continuing vitality of the older Hilary. The pacing reminded me of a Masterpiece Theatre production, as befits the story, however veiled, of a literary figure. I found myself riveted by it, as I was by the novel all those years ago.