Mischievous ‘Orphan’ is a fearless thriller
As Hollywood movies go, Orphan is fearless, and it is guaranteed a spot on my year-end top ten list. Punctuating its increasingly dark, well-paced chamber drama with horrifying bursts of blood-red violence, its visual incongruity makes it all the more effective. There is no ambiguity about the sinister Esther, and Orphan sets itself apart just by putting all of its characters (even the children) at stake. As the film’s eponymous, Bad Seed-inspired mini-antagonist, 12-year-old Isabelle Fuhrman gives a remarkable, mind-blowing performance, every bit the equal of the inimitable Vera Farmiga (seen not so long ago in the similarly themed Joshua, though that film was more about children vs. parents than this one; Orphan is both a more conventional genre movie and more about how marriage reacts to outside forces). Though the disintegration of Farmiga’s relationship with Peter Sarsgaard is less effective than it could’ve been, Orphan mischievously exploits its premise from frame one, and even manages to tell a coherent story about an over-taxed mom’s fucked up emotional journey. To be honest, I called the big twist from the trailer, but it still worked for me. I’m not doing Orphan justice, and I have every intention of revisiting it and writing about it in greater detail (it can certainly use its defenders, though Bryant Frazer has nailed it, and even Ebert wrote a rave.) But I beg you, go see it before it’s gone.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Movies
Comments