The plot centers on a charismatic radio talk show host, Tom Avery (Bruce Greenwood), and his "mermaid researcher" girlfriend Fay (Emilia Fox).

The Republic of Love was conceived as a film adaptation in 1996, when Triptych Media producer, Anna Stratton read the book and was highly impressed with its humour and diversity of characters, and confessed to being a fan of Shields's writing.

I was also drawn in by the humour –characters, situations and events that made me laugh out loud and the interweaving of the magical elements – the mermaid myth and Tom’s middle of the night radio life – with the love story.

"[1] Once Stratton had decided to produce the film, she looked to the United Kingdom to provide sufficient resources and for a co-producer, given the popularity of Shield's work in the UK.

Meanwhile, Stratton and Baines had remained in contact and met once again in early 2002 to discuss financing the project together and to find the female lead in Emilia Fox.

She was never able to see the final result, as she died on July 16, 2003, but during pre-production she would occasionally visit, with her husband, to approve of design drawings and photographs of the cast and costumes to be employed.

[1] She was also influenced by the line that Tom says to Fay in the film, "geography is destiny" and believed the screen provided a rich visual opportunity to reflect this element of Shields's storytelling.

[1] The novel itself was set in Winnipeg but in filming in Toronto, Mehta attempted to recreate the "Republic" and to provide a paradigm where the characters’ paths could criss cross and they would eventually meet each other.

They made many experimentations with the lighting style to reflect the contrast of mood in many scenes and to emphasise the strength of the love between the lead characters and their physical beauty, whilst maintaining a delicate balance.

Brian Gibson of the Vue Weekly in Edmonton said of the film, "The tiresome zaniness and Seinfeldian conceits might be forgivable if the romantic plot weren’t so full of empty truisms and nonsense lines that would stump a Zen monk.