Satisfying and Surprisingly Disturbing "Child Killer" Thriller.

Rating: 8/10 (1 August 2009)

"Orphan" focuses on Kate (Vera Farmiga), a former Yale piano instructor and recovering alcoholic, and her husband, John (Peter Sarsgaard). They have two children: pre-teenaged Daniel and four-year-old Maxine, "Max", who is almost entirely deaf. After Kate has a stillborn, it leaves the couple unhappy, and they decide on adoption, which leads them to a prim and well-mannered 9 year old Russian girl named Esther. She seems like the perfect child; she's well versed, a talented painter, and favors old-fashioned dresses and hair ribbons to jeans and t-shirts. They decide that she is the one. Unfortunately, for Kate and John, they made a very big mistake, because Esther is not what she appears to be at all. Her deceptive nature and manipulatory tactics are seen by Kate very soon after she comes to live with them, but nobody else seems to notice - and a series of "accidents" and misfortunes seem to follow Esther wherever she goes, which increase in violence and put everyone in danger.
Based on advertisements, "Orphan" may appear to be a run-of-the-mill "evil kid" flick that we've seen time and time again. But don't be led to think that, or you will miss out on what is quite likely the best horror film of the year thus far. The film is directed by Jaume Collett-Sera, who was behind 2005's "House of Wax" (which, while many people did not seem to like it, I thought it was a fairly good horror movie), and it's a stylish one at that - much more mature than "House of Wax", though, in both themes and direction, and with a more mature cast as well. The camera-work is sleek and effective, and the film is very visually attractive, with its stark wintry New England setting (which is so wonderfully appropriate for this type of film if I may say so myself) and impressive house constructions.
As for the disturbing nature of the film which I mention in my summary line, I was surprised at how irked I was by some of the scenes in this film. I think it mostly was because they were such awful, horrific things that involved such young children, but it was bothersome nonetheless. Esther's manipulation of the Coleman children is also interesting and puts them in a handful of awful situations. The murder scenes and graphic details are presented realistically as well, which, when combined with young kids, make for some very disturbing viewing material, probably even more so for parents. Besides this, the "scary" factor of the film is somewhere in the middle. There's some cheap jump scares and a couple of 'gotcha!' moments, which won't be too effective for seasoned horror fans. However, the film makes up for this in suspense, which is wound tight as the film progresses from its rather leisurely opening act. In terms of acting, it is, in a word, impressive. Vera Farmiga is our leading lady, who acts as a sort of guide throughout the film, with whom we are able to empathize with, and she plays it well. Her husband, played by Peter Sarsgaard, is disbelieving of Esther's rotten other side, and while his role is typical, he performs well. Now, on to the children - both actors who portray the Coleman kids show talent (especially the youngest daughter, who is playing a deaf-mute child).
And at the center of the show, there is Isabelle Fuhrman as our villain - little orphan Esther. While all the acting in the film is impressive, Fuhrman's is the most so, probably because this is her first feature film, and she, at 12 years old, was able to tackle such a complex and mature role and play it perfectly. Her character is a two-faced little devil, as we know from the start- manipulative, intelligent, and has a whole dress pocket full of tricks. Part of you wants to hug her because of her sweet smile, prim disposition, and cute Russian accent - and the other part of you wants to kick her in the face because you know that underneath it all she's actually a sociopathic murderess. She's a frustrating character to say the least, and a creepy one at that. Farmiga has a few moments with her that provide the audience with some well-deserved catharsis, including a swift slap in the face in a hospital scene that knocks Esther to the floor and produces cheers from the audience. It's all good fun.
Now, as for the twist - well, I won't reveal it here, because that wouldn't be fair to anyone. It's a very clever one, and while I found its revelation to be a little underwhelming, it is still great nonetheless. Once it is revealed, there are pieces of the film that come together and little moments that will suddenly make complete sense - so, in that vein, the writing here is well-laced and very fluid. I don't think I've seen a twist quite like this before in all my years of watching horror films, so I was happy with it. The film ends on the ultimate cathartic note, and it closes appropriately with a shot of the wintry Connecticut forest.
In closing, "Orphan" is a classy and solid film. It takes the evil child premise that audiences have seen before and tweaks the ending with a twist that is so clever it hurts. On top of that, there is visually appealing scenery and cinematography, a continuous thread of suspense peppered with some very disturbing material, impressive acting (especially from the children), some laughs, and a handful of lofty moments that will have the crowd giddy with satisfaction. Horror fans and general audiences will receive a little bit of everything in "Orphan", so it makes from an all-around good time at the movies. 8/10.