Orphan (2009)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Jaume Collet-Serra

Writers (WGA):

David Johnson (screenplay)
Alex Mace (story)

Release Date:

24 July 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Can you keep a secret?

Plot:

A husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she claims to be.

Plot Keywords:

Memorial Garden | Screaming | Connecticut | Alcoholism | Manipulation

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Vera Farmiga	...	Kate
Peter Sarsgaard	...	John
Isabelle Fuhrman	...	Esther
CCH Pounder	...	Sister Abigail
Jimmy Bennett	...	Daniel
Margo Martindale	...	Dr. Browning
Karel Roden	...	Dr. Varava
Aryana Engineer	...	Max
Rosemary Dunsmore	...	Grandma Barbara
Jamie Young	...	Brenda
Lorry Ayers	...	Joyce
Brendan Wall	...	Detective
Genelle Williams	...	Sister Judith
Mustafa Abdelkarim	...	Daniel's Friends
Landon Norris	...	Daniel's Friends

Also Known As:

Esther (France)
L'orpheline (Canada: French title)
Orphan - Das Waisenkind (Germany)
The Orphan (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for disturbing violent content, some sexuality and language.

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA | Canada | Germany | France

Language:

English | American Sign Language | Estonian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45301) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | UK:15 | South Korea:18 | Ireland:18 (original rating) | Singapore:M18 | South Africa:16 | Singapore:NC-16 (edited for re-rating) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Ireland:16 (re-rating on appeal) | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-15 | Hong Kong:III | Taiwan:R-12 | Hungary:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Japan:R15+ | Norway:15 | Mexico:B15 | Peru:14 | Argentina:16 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Centennial College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

In earlier drafts of the script, the song Esther sings and hums throughout is "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" by Doris Day.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Daniel is playing Guitar Hero on his Xbox 360 console, his controller power light is not on, indicating the controller is not on/or plugged in to the console. Also, when the game is shown on the television Daniel is playing on the 'Expert' difficulty and appears to be doing quite well, however looking at his fingers, Daniel is only pushing the first three buttons on the guitar (easy mode) and not all five buttons as Expert mode requires.

Quotes:

[first lines]
John Coleman: Hang on. I know. You're doin' so good. You're doin' so good, honey. You all right?
Kate Coleman: Yeah.

Movie Connections:

Features Guitar Hero World Tour (2008) (VG)

Soundtrack:

The Glory of Love

Finally a GOOD HORROR FILM. Good film period.

Finally, a horror film about adults. Adults with complex issues and children that act like children and not hyper precocious sex models. The reason to see this film isn't to find out the over advertised " Esther's secret" of the film (a MAJOR misstep in marketing. Too many people now enter the film trying to figure out the "secret" before they normally would have been surprised), but rather to see a well-acted (extremely well acted by Vera F.)slow-building suspense story with excellent direction and cinematography. John Ottman's score also serves the film well, without becoming overpowering in signaling this is a "creepy" film. The actress who plays Esther shows a skill in performance that makes one think we may actually have another Jodie Foster to keep an eye on. This film works because we LIKE the characters (Rob Zombie please take note!) and fear for them and their survival. Dark Castle's best film, and it gives one hope that the horror/suspense genre still can be presented with intelligence and depth. Hollywood take note: we don't want a xerox of this film, but we do want more films that share this films strenghts: good script, likable real characters, excellent acting and nice, tension building direction.