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

Colour:

Colour

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:

The movie was originally written to take place during the fall, and some exterior shots were filmed to establish this. Shortly before principal photography was set to begin in December 2007, the Toronto locations were hit with near-record snowfall, forcing the change of setting to winter. One of the scenes written out as a result was a Halloween carnival at Daniel and Esther's school.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Estonian doctor looks through the file of Esther, all sections are in English. Also you can see as title "City of Woodchester, England - Department of Psychiatry".

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:

References The Ring Two (2005)

Soundtrack:

The Glory of Love

Significantly Thrilling and Outstandingly Portrayed

Orphan, the name says very little for what you get to see in the movie. I watched great horrors/thrillers, this movie with mild brutality and refreshingly thrill creates a great impression on audience pulses. Esther, especially, acted terrific in portraying psychotic behavior and the screenplay was just perfect to make it a picture perfect.

Be it, the twists introduced in the plot in the later half of the movie or the realistic resemblance of the whole plot, the movie is worth your buck on the big screen. Though the movie was 2hr long, it was a clever move by the director to inject some meaningful comedy into the movie so as to maintain the attention of the audience. An interesting point to note is that audience laughed quite a bit for almost 60% of the movie and then were shocked as the plot took twists and turns. This combination of humor along with shock is what makes this movie a brilliant thriller.

All in all the movie was successful in grabbing my attention, believing in such offbeat concepts and lastly giving the worth of my money. Hope you all go watch this terrific movie and feel the heat inside the Air-Conditioned Theaters. My rating for this movie 7.5/10