Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009
"Orphan"
In "Orphan," Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John Coleman (Peter Sarsgaard) are having problems in their marriage after the couple's third child is stillborn. The loss is hardest on Kate, who is recovering from a drinking problem that caused her to lose her job. The Colemans decide to adopt a child, thinking it might bring them closer. While visiting a local orphanage they decide to adopt a 9-year-old Russian girl named Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman). The Colemans' daughter, Maxine, who is deaf because of an accident when she was younger, is nice to Esther when she arrives but their son, Daniel, doesn't like the idea at all. Everything seems to be going fine until Esther catches Kate and John having sex and when Kate talks to her about it Esther seems to know a lot more than a girl her age should. Kate grows suspicious of Esther, but John tells her she probably just heard that stuff from school and that most kids do. Soon, however, Esther pushes a young girl off a playground slide, breaking her ankle, for picking on her but she tells everyone that the girl slipped and Maxine, who saw it happen, lies for her. I don't want to give away the pay-off, but expect a twist at the end that makes much of the film make sense. Overall, this movie was better than I expected but it's still not that good. The trailer makes it seem more like a horror movie than a thriller with a twist, so I recommend you rent something else and leave this one orphaned on the shelf.
