Orphan
3.5/4
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Isabelle Fuhrman, Peter Sarsgaard, Aryana Engineer, Jimmy Bennett, CCH Pounder, Margo Martindale
Rated R for Disturbing Violent Content, Some Sexuality and Language
"Orphan" was the object of a fair amount of controversy when it was released and it's not hard to see why. The film details how a family of four adopts a nine year old girl who turns out to be a psychopathic killer. Not exactly encouraging for prospective parents. Controversy aside, this is a scary thriller. However I must admit that it made me feel unclean at times, and I have a high tolerance for this sort of thing.
The Colemans are about to adopt another child. Kate (Farmiga), a recovering alcoholic, lost her daughter Jessica during pregnancy, and is still warming up to the idea of adopting. They choose a girl named Esther (Fuhrman), a charming and sweet little girl. Things seem to be going great, except that people have mysterious accidents whenever she's around. Kate is getting suspicious, but her husband John (Sarsgaard) thinks she's being paranoid. But for Kate, this is not about her. It's about the safety of her other kids: Daniel (Bennett) and Max (Engineer). But how can she protect her kids from her new daughter?
This is a very violent film. Not so much in what happens, but in the circumstances in which violence occurs. It's very disconcerting to see a nine year old kill someone, often brutally. Many people will be turned off by the violence (for the record, the R rating is richly deserved. This movie is absolutely not okay for kids). But it does what it sets out to do, which is to create a scary "psycho from within" movie.
Much of the reason why this movie works so well is because the performances are all top notch. Vera Farmiga, an actress who is well on her way to the A-list, is terrific playing the role of the only person who understands what is going on. On paper, there's nothing special about her, but Farmiga is like Cate Blanchett or Meryl Streep; give her a script, and she'll take care of the rest. Peter Sarsgaard, a character actor who usually plays creeps and psychos is good as the sympathetic husband. He's likable even if he's so oblivious that you want to knock some sense into the guy. He has great chemistry with Farmiga; it's easy to buy them as a loving couple. As the demon child from hell, Fuhrman is excellent. She acts so innocent that you know there's something really wrong with her. The young actress studied the performances of Glenn Close in "Dangerous Liasons" and Anthony Hopkins in "The Silence of the Lambs," and it shows. This is one scary kid.
But the best performance goes to young Aryana Engineer, who plays Max. Although she doesn't speak, she is very gifted at using her face and body language to communicate. Engineer is absolutely adorable without being sickening, and we care about her more than anyone else.
The film was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who made the utterly forgettable "House of Wax" remake, and he has a good understanding of what makes things go bump in the night. He proves that with a good script, he can do wonders.
Look, I've described the film as it is. This is a violent and disturbing flick, but it is well done and well acted. You have been warned.
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Isabelle Fuhrman, Peter Sarsgaard, Aryana Engineer, Jimmy Bennett, CCH Pounder, Margo Martindale
Rated R for Disturbing Violent Content, Some Sexuality and Language
"Orphan" was the object of a fair amount of controversy when it was released and it's not hard to see why. The film details how a family of four adopts a nine year old girl who turns out to be a psychopathic killer. Not exactly encouraging for prospective parents. Controversy aside, this is a scary thriller. However I must admit that it made me feel unclean at times, and I have a high tolerance for this sort of thing.
The Colemans are about to adopt another child. Kate (Farmiga), a recovering alcoholic, lost her daughter Jessica during pregnancy, and is still warming up to the idea of adopting. They choose a girl named Esther (Fuhrman), a charming and sweet little girl. Things seem to be going great, except that people have mysterious accidents whenever she's around. Kate is getting suspicious, but her husband John (Sarsgaard) thinks she's being paranoid. But for Kate, this is not about her. It's about the safety of her other kids: Daniel (Bennett) and Max (Engineer). But how can she protect her kids from her new daughter?
This is a very violent film. Not so much in what happens, but in the circumstances in which violence occurs. It's very disconcerting to see a nine year old kill someone, often brutally. Many people will be turned off by the violence (for the record, the R rating is richly deserved. This movie is absolutely not okay for kids). But it does what it sets out to do, which is to create a scary "psycho from within" movie.
Much of the reason why this movie works so well is because the performances are all top notch. Vera Farmiga, an actress who is well on her way to the A-list, is terrific playing the role of the only person who understands what is going on. On paper, there's nothing special about her, but Farmiga is like Cate Blanchett or Meryl Streep; give her a script, and she'll take care of the rest. Peter Sarsgaard, a character actor who usually plays creeps and psychos is good as the sympathetic husband. He's likable even if he's so oblivious that you want to knock some sense into the guy. He has great chemistry with Farmiga; it's easy to buy them as a loving couple. As the demon child from hell, Fuhrman is excellent. She acts so innocent that you know there's something really wrong with her. The young actress studied the performances of Glenn Close in "Dangerous Liasons" and Anthony Hopkins in "The Silence of the Lambs," and it shows. This is one scary kid.
But the best performance goes to young Aryana Engineer, who plays Max. Although she doesn't speak, she is very gifted at using her face and body language to communicate. Engineer is absolutely adorable without being sickening, and we care about her more than anyone else.
The film was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who made the utterly forgettable "House of Wax" remake, and he has a good understanding of what makes things go bump in the night. He proves that with a good script, he can do wonders.
Look, I've described the film as it is. This is a violent and disturbing flick, but it is well done and well acted. You have been warned.
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