Mermaid Beach Review: Welsh Teen Empowerment Tale

The Welsh coastline becomes the setting for the "mermaidcore" trend in this somewhat stiff family film about a teenager named Lily who transforms into a mermaid. While it might have worked as a children's TV series, as a film, it struggles to present a believable mermaid transformation. Lily's shimmering tail appears to be made of nylon, which becomes uncomfortably clingy when wet, making her legs visible beneath the scales.

Ellie Bindman portrays Lily, who relocates to the Welsh seaside from London with her family due to her stepfather's job. Unhappy about leaving her friends, she communicates with her mother, Claire (Marie Wilson), mostly through eye-rolls. Lily's sole friend in her new town is Shane (Jack Taruschio Thomas), an awkward and slightly eccentric aspiring local reporter investigating a mermaid sighting. One day, Lily discovers a shiny shell on the beach, which unexpectedly turns her into a mermaid, allowing her to swim away with her tail arcing through the water.

Naturally, the film incorporates a straightforward environmental message concerning ocean pollution, linked to the textile factory where Lily's stepfather, Jason (Andrew Rolfe), is employed. The factory owner and the town's mayor, both bland and formally dressed, serve as the film's antagonists. For a children's movie, there are an excessive number of scenes depicting adults engaged in dull, grown-up activities in uninspiring offices. Some of these adult characters are so wooden they could be carved into boats. If "Mermaid Beach" were to be adapted for television, producers would likely need to undertake significant revisions to the script and character development, not to mention a more convincing mermaid tail.