Very Good.

Rating: 9/10 (1 November 2009)

Rented this one the week it was released and definitely didn't feel cheated. All the elements are there to make this a great thriller. There's the, from the get go, slightly offkey orphan child, Esther. There's the increasingly odd and, ultimately sociopathic, behavior of Esther. There's the growing atmosphere of gloom and threat to the family who adopts Esther. There's the mother, with her own issues, who is the only one who seems to realize that Esther is not what she's cracked up to be. The script is intelligent, direction well-paced and full of surprises and the cast is excellent.
The child lead, Isabelle Fuhrman, who plays Esther is excellent. The fact that she is only 12 (and probably 10 when this was filmed) is truly noteworthy. Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard, as the parents, are terrific. But, once again, enough cannot be said about the performance turned in by Fuhrman.
The movie was the subject of a major public hating campaign by adoption advocates when it was released. Once again, an entertainment vehicle was slammed because some people, who believed their oxen were being gored alleged the entertainment vehicle was delivering a message they didn't like. Bottomline, the film company had to add a disclosure at the beginning of the film to the effect that "adoptions happen all the time and you won't end up with a psycho killer, really." Just plain stupid because the real message of the flick is to check your disbelief at the door, sit back and enjoy a good flick.