Movie Review - Orphan (2009)

Just watched Orphan again for a second time and it holds up incredibly well. It's a taut, tense little thriller/horror movie with a seriously great performance from Vera Farmiga. Watching it a second time, I appreciated her role even moreso than I did before (and, as you can see in my original review, I really liked it back then, too). The acting across the board is really top-notch. Rent this one, folks.

Original Post: 7/27/09

Starring Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Jimmy Bennett, and Isabelle Fuhrman
Written by David Johnson
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

At first glance, John and Kate Coleman (Sarsgaard and Farmiga) appear to be the perfect couple with two kids and a beautiful home. However, deep down, there are issues with the couple, first and foremost, the fact that they long to have another child after Kate miscarried a few years ago. They decide on adoption and, unbeknown to them, they choose one screwed up kid. At first, the artistically inclined Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) seems to fit in quite well with the similarly artistically inclined Kate, but all is not as it seems. For, you see, like the poster says, there's something wrong with Esther.

Does it matter that a sort of guessed what was wrong with Esther with 40 minutes left to go? Nope. Because the director and writer ratchet up the tension without ever going over-the-top. Admittedly (and this is my one big complaint), they utilize the cheap "look out behind you" scare way too many times, but other than that, it's a very "adult" horror movie.

It certainly helps that the acting is excellent across the board. Vera Farmiga was great as the mother. I was watching it and commented on the fact that I was loving the little things that she was doing -- facial expressions, hand wringing -- her character felt incredibly real. She's helped by the fact that she actually has a good backstory in that she is somewhat wracked with guilt (or at the very least, somewhat unstable) over the fact that her alcoholism led to her youngest daughter's deafness. Peter Sarsgaard is also quite good, although is role is rather rote and nothing special. The two Coleman kids -- played by Jimmy Bennett and Aryana Engineer -- were much better than I expected them to be.

And let's not forget Isabelle Fuhrman as the wicked Esther. I'll admit that at first I was saying "I can't stand this kid," but once she went nutso, she was insanely good. Towards the end there's a scene that made me so uncomfortable. In the hands of an untalented child actor, the scene would've been a chore (and a joke) to watch, but Fuhrman doesn't go over-the-top and she shows that she's definitely got acting chops. And it's not just during that insanely creepy scene...the way she stares people down with her piercing eyes just creeped me out (which is absolutely the point).

I don't know what it is, but, as of now, my top two movies of the year are horror flicks. I don't know why, but both Drag Me to Hell and this flick were pure entertainment to me. Are they great movies? Will they make it on my Best Films of All Time list? Probably not (although who knows?)...but they are exactly what they need to be.

The RyMickey Rating: B+