Orphan Review
By Lora Grady
Problem Child
Regarding "Orphan", an often-histrionic, quasi-Gothic entry in the long line of "evil child" movies, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that if you plunk down $12 for this one, you're going to see two movies for the price of one. The bad news is that only one of those is worth seeing, and it's not the one being advertised on the movie posters.
"Orphan" has a bit of an identity crisis. It's not quite a full-blown horror movie – though some scenes are unquestionably horrific – and it's not really a thriller. It includes the framework for a compelling drama: a marriage cracking under the unbearable weight of a lost child, alcoholism, and past infidelity. However, that tale, which by itself could have made for a solid movie, is quickly overwhelmed by the Grand Guignol elements of the primary storyline. It's one we've seen before, for the most part, in such predecessors as "The Omen": evil child infiltrates happy family and destroys it from within.
Peter Sarsgaard ("Shattered Glass") and Vera Farmiga ("
The Departed") play parents whose choice to adopt a girl to take the place of the baby they lost to stillbirth sets their family on the road to ruin. After some story setup, wherein we learn that Ms. Farmiga's Kate is unsure whether she is ready to add to their family so soon after the loss of her baby, and is still grappling with the aftereffects of alcoholism, we follow the couple to the quaintly-named St. Mariana's Home for Girls. There, husband John bonds with a charming, solitary Russian girl named Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), and she is soon brought home and introduced to the family's other two children as their "new sister".
At first all seems well, but there are hints of trouble to come: Esther kills an injured bird in the woods by crushing it with a rock; she breaks into a screaming fit after a fight with a schoolmate; she bonds with John but begins to pull away from Kate. The problems escalate as Esther injures a classmate at the playground. There are hints of Esther's mysterious past as well: she carries a well-worn Bible with old photographs stuffed inside it, she dresses like a Victorian girl and will not remove the ribbons tied around her throat and wrists, and she paints beautiful, eerie pictures that reveal strange, fluorescent images in overlay when the lights are turned off.
As we learn about Esther's past, we also learn about the past of her adopted family. John and Kate have weathered his infidelity and her drinking, the death of their baby and the near-death of their young daughter, Max, who is deaf. Kate works through her guilt in therapy, and John dodges temptation in the form of an attractive neighbor who chats him up at the playground. There's a lot of backstory to balance, but Mr. Sarsgaard and Ms. Farmiga are pros and they have a welcome chemistry together. Their exchanges and arguments have a lived-in quality that lends genuine depth to their onscreen relationship. It is this part of the film – the family drama, and the satisfaction of seeing two accomplished actors working together – that would have been worth pursuing further. The history between these characters could easily have sustained its own story.
Meanwhile, Esther has unraveled to the point where she murders the nun (CCH Pounder, utterly wasted in this role) from her former school who visits to offer some words of warning about the foundling. This scene is where the film shows its true colors – it is so graphic and shocking that it feels like irresponsible filmmaking, particularly as the attack involves children. From this point it is a murder (or near-murder) by the numbers race to the shocking twist at the end, when we learn about the secret Esther has been hiding, where she really came from, and why her original Russian orphanage had never heard of her. This plot development is novel and unexpected, but it undermines the good work that the actors have put in thus far, and goes for titillation at the expense of legitimate denouement.
The uneven tone of the movie echoes the identity crisis of the plot, so we have beautifully utilized set pieces (it is winter, and soft snow blankets the rural landscape; the house where the family lives is a modern construction of wood and glass, filled with light and art and music) juxtaposed with go-for-broke setups that result in harrowing car crashes, a child trapped in a burning tree fort, and an arm squeezed in a vice until the bone cracks (!). A little restraint would have gone a long way here.
It must be noted, however, that the movie is entertaining. Also of note is Isabelle Fuhrman's performance as Esther. She is a preternaturally pretty young actress with a compelling air of stillness, and a flair for finding the menace and madness in her character without overplaying. She gives a surprisingly disciplined performance in a role that could have been a disaster, and she holds her own in scenes with Ms. Farmiga and Mr. Sarsgaard. She is a performer to watch, and with luck her future roles will be in productions with a little more consistency – now that would really be something to write home about.
