A pleasantly disturbing surprise

Rating: 8/10 (12 November 2009)

I have to admit it, I was a bit skeptical about Orphan, as it had written "formulaic evil-kid movie" all over it.
Instead I have to eat my words, and give credit when credit is due. And lots of it actually.
The plot is standard enough: a couple decide to adopt a child after the tragic death of their unborn kid. They go for an older kid, and choose Esther, a charming-yet-odd girl.
Esther comes into the movie like many other "devilish kids" we've seen before: gentle and condescending, but already with a little bit of darkness showing through. Things start to get worse (for the family, but better for the audience) when Ester "settles down" at her new place. The interesting conflict with her new Mom is well-played and makes us really uncomfortable when it appears clear (to us at least) that the little girl is playing dirty. Everything is well-executed, and most important, well acted.
The swerve is really good (not 100% new, but still head and shoulders better than most of what we had to sit through recently) and caught me off-guard.
The finale, however, is a bit of a letdown, as it goes back to Final Struggle 101. We can't always win...
All in all, Orphan is very enjoyable, and Esther (the character and the young actress) is a joy to watch: adorable, creepy or downright scary with no drop in her performance. Also, the rest of the cast worked pretty well, kids included (actually Aryana Engineer, the little sister Max, is very impressive too).
As said, the plot is solid, with some peaks, and even the lows are much more than okay in the big picture.
Esther gave me the creeps and made me highly uncomfortable, something that very few characters (or movies) had managed to do in recent times. And all that without needing a truckload of fake blood and bowels.
Someone in Hollywood should take notes.
P.S. If Isabelle Fuhrman doesn't fall victim of the usual "Trobled Teenage Star" syndrome, we might have found a top-flight actress for the future.