Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.
Written by David Johnson and Alex Mace.
Starring Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, CCH Pounder, Jimmy Bennett and Aryana Engineer.
"Can you keep a secret?"
After the loss of their third child during childbirth, Kate (Farmiga) and John (Sarsgaard) Coleman later decide to share the love that child would have gotten with an adopted child instead. A search for that child leads them to Ester, a 9-year-old Russian girl who had recently lost her foster parents to a raging house fire. Once adopted and in the Coleman home, Ester takes instantly to Max (Engineer) who is deaf and mute; however, Ester and the Colman son, Daniel (Bennet), do not get along. As time passes, tension quickly mounts and suspicions rise. Ester begins to show signs she may not be completely what she seems. Ester's true self begins to emerge when her position in the Coleman home is threatened by the orphanage's Sister Abigail (Pounder). Ester manipulates the family into believing Kate is drinking again and is trying to blame Ester for all that is happening. Things turn on Ester when John does not give in to her seduction and a Russian mental institute returns Kate calls about Ester's past. Kate races to confront Ester to save her family.
The Orphan, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, is a surprisingly above-average, tense horror flick. The direction is focused and impressive, only using minor filming tricks to enhance certain key scenes as necessary and to great effect. A number of scenes stand out. In an early scene, Ester is picked on by a group of school kids to point where, totally frustrated, she screams out. The camera is allowed to shift back and forth, left to right which enhances the shock of her actions to children surrounding her. In another scene, Ester is clicking on and off a black light in her room revealing the hidden paintings she has on the drawing on her wall. Scenes that involve Kate realization that she losing control of her own life are shot with an emotional punch, be it whether it's when the car containing only Max begins to roll backwards down a busy street or when Kate looses her cool and strikes out at Ester in public.
The script is smart, completely drawing the audiance into the characters, their lives and their peril. From the parents, to Ester, to the kids, each gets their respect. No one is just there or is only for fodder. It's a bold choice to hold back the exploitation that a film like this could run with. The writers strike a nice balance between a tense thriller and a horrific monster show. They are able to steer clear of many of the cliches that could easily plague this kind of picture.
The acting is top-notch too, bringing each of these characters to life. It really is a woman's show. Vera Farmiga is haunted and tortured by both her past and the secrets she uncovers but no one believes. Isabell Fuhrman is both charming and terrifying as Ester. The movie depends on her performance and she delivers. Even young Aryana Engineer as Max commands the screen. These performances alone make the movie a success. The boys shine as well. Peter Sarsgaard as the father is completely convincing in his defending Ester against his own wife. And Jimmy Bennet as Daniel rounds out a very strong, professional cast.
There are a couple of things that may prevent full enjoyment of The Orphan. The body count and gore is very low; but, fortunately, it benefits the movie. The secret glow-in-the-dark paintings are taken a bit too far, it both stretches believability and risks taking the audience out of the moment and the movie. The final reveal of Ester's sinister secret can be too jarring for some viewers, it's a tough sell. Fortunately, when Collet-Serra presents the physical "transformation" of Ester during the finale, her mental transformation was already complete helping to sell the whole package.
Proving yet again that kids can be scary, The Orphan turned out to be an enjoyable little nugget. While not a feel-good movie in the slightest, I was very satisfied at the end and was left smiling.
7 out of 10
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