Orphan Review

Rated R (Disturbing Violent Content, Some Sexuality and Language)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 3 Minutes

Cast-

Vera Farmiga-Kate Coleman

Peter Sarsgaard-John Coleman

Isabelle Fuhrman-Esther

Aryana Engineer-Max Coleman

Jimmy Bennett-Daniel Coleman

C.C.H. Pounder-Sister Abigail

Margo Martindale-Dr. Browning

Rosemary Dunsmore-Grandma Barbara

Karel Roden-Dr. Värava

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

Don't you hate it when the little girl you adopted turns out to be a killer psycho?

Nothing is scarier than a little child. A few years ago I worked at a tutoring place for afterschool children and was assigned the most rowdy bunch to look after. Food was thrown at me and following endless requests to make them do their homework, I ended up quitting right then and there. At around five hours, it remains one of the shortest jobs I've ever held. Of course, those children are angels compared to the one in "Orphan," the latest film from Joel Silver's Dark Castle Entertainment. "Orphan" is a back-to-basics 'killer kid' film that tends to give into standard horror conventions at times but Jaume Collet-Serra's picture makes up for it with an intriguing mystery, well-developed characters, and good performances—especially from Isabelle Fuhrman as the creepy Esther.

SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW! After a disturbing scene which will give pregnant women everywhere nightmares, Kate Coleman (Vera Farmiga) wakes up in the middle of the night reminiscing about her third child, Jessica, who was still-born. Her marriage with John (Peter Sarsgaard) has been in a downward spiral ever since as she struggles to recover from a drinking problem that led to her daughter, Max (Aryana Engineer), becoming deaf. To regain a sense of normalcy in their lives, the couple decides to go the adoption route and immediately takes a liking to a nine-year-old Russian orphan named Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman). She's well-mannered, creates amazing artwork, and is incredibly mature for her age but tends to be shy around other children. 'I guess I'm just different,' she says and Kate, being the liberal parent she is, remarks, 'Well, there's nothing wrong with being different.' Esther immediately bonds with Max but Kate's older son, Daniel (Jimmy Bennett) makes fun of her, particularly the way she dresses. Of course, good things never come without a price and soon, bad things start happening around Esther. A little girl gets pushed off the playground slide and breaks her leg. The nun from the adoption agency goes missing and later turns up dead with her skull bashed open. Through it all, Esther remains behind her 'cute girl' smile but beneath that façade is a disturbing serial killer. As Kate's world begins to fall apart, she desperately tries to convince her family that Esther is not what she seems…but it may be already too late.

"Orphan" uses the classic plot device where a main character knows the truth but everyone is convinced he or she is mad and won't have any of it. While it's definitely a familiar concept by this point, Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra handles it well enough by taking the time to develop his characters, a concept that has become all but foreign to the myriad PG-13 'horror' films that Hollywood studios seem fit to continuously dump on audiences. There are some problems, such as when Esther's secret is finally revealed. I'll admit that it surprised me since I was expecting some sort of supernatural angle or that she simply had an obsessive Electra complex but the twist, while novel, just didn't seem all that plausible if you looked at it from a scientific perspective. The ending also suffers from 'villain-who-won't-die' syndrome. When it comes to the actual horror, Collet-Serra demonstrates an overreliance on jump scares. You get a nice, quiet scene and then suddenly the sound blares but hey, it's only your dopey, smiling husband! None of these issues detract from the film too much and I generally enjoyed "Orphan" thanks to the intriguing premise that kept me on my toes until the very last minute.

The acting is solid, considering both Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard have been mainstays in numerous indie films. Farmiga is convincing as the mother who's haunted by her past and overcome with grief over the loss of her third child. We sympathize with everything she's been through and when she finally takes matters into her own hands, we cheer her on. Sarsgaard doesn't fare as well unfortunately, mainly because he seems to sleepwalk through his role. He plays the understanding, oblivious husband who doesn't find anything wrong until it's too late. Generally speaking, any capable actor can play this role without too much fuss. The best performance comes from twelve-year-old Isabelle Fuhrman as the creepy killer kid Esther. She transitions from the cute little girl with pigtails to sneering murderer effortlessly. Some of her scenes take on a whole new level of creepy, such as when she dresses up in a black gown, wearing mascara and lipstick in an attempt to seduce Kate's husband. I said to myself, 'All right, I hope this isn't going where I think its going!' Fuhrman also excels at dealing with the darker side of adult emotions, displaying such malice behind her eyes that'll unnerve you. When she is caught watching Kate and John make love on the kitchen table, Kate attempts to explain 'the birds and the bees' but Esther surprises her with two words: 'They f*ck.' It's delivered in such a nonchalant way with just a hint of menace and I can tell you, the audience was taken aback! I see great things in Fuhrman's future and hopefully she'll have a successful career. The rest of the cast includes Aryana Engineer and Jimmy Bennett as Kate and John's children, Max and Daniel. Aryana is forced to communicate using only her body language since she's playing a deaf character but she does a good job. One particularly memorable moment is when Max has this priceless look of shock upon seeing Esther dressed up like Little Bo-Peep for school.

Released on July 24, 2009, "Orphan" has received largely mixed reviews with 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics felt that 'it has moments of dark humor and the requisite scares [but the film] fails to build on its interesting premise and degenerates into a formulaic, sleazy horror/thriller.' It will probably reach number three or four at the domestic box office, seeing as how it's competing with two other movies this weekend: Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler's battle-of-the-sexes comedy "The Ugly Truth" and the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced "G-Force," about guinea pig spies, of all things. There was also a small controversy from the adoption community that claimed the film promotes a negative stereotype about orphans and there's even a Facebook group calling for people to boycott the picture. Honestly, they're making a big fuss over nothing but people will always find something to be offended about. Although "Orphan" may stumble by relying on standard horror conventions a little too much, it remains an above-average film that most will enjoy thanks to a standout performance from Isabelle Fuhrman. It sure gives a new meaning to 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' or, in this case, little girl!

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

"I'm NOT your f*cking mommy!"