Surprisingly good

Rating: 8/10 (21 April 2011)

I have to say, I really enjoy films that can do what this film does in its combination of genres. When it is executed poorly it absolutely ruins a film through a complete loss of direction or motivation. But a film like The Orphanage combines the genres of horror, drama, and romance very well. It is difficult to say any one of those three genres stands out as the most prominent in this tale of love and story of horror (that line, courtesy of the film's tagline). The Orphanage, or El orfanato as it is known by its Spanish title, tells the story of a woman, Laura, who reopens her childhood home as an orphanage for disabled children. Everything appears like it is going to work out wonderfully until Laura's son Simon starts talking to imaginary friends. On opening day Simon begins acting very strange until he suddenly goes missing. Laura is convinced it has to do with ghosts in the house, so she begins an investigation with the help of parapsychologists to find her missing son. The story takes all kinds of turns that you never see coming, and it is overall very unique, as well as very suspenseful.
This is a movie that truly makes you feel. It is a movie where you can get behind the characters and really become engulfed in the story. There are so many strange yet interesting things going on in this film that will surely catch ones attention. A great mystery unfolds in this film, and you are constantly wanting to know more. The film is set up very well in that Simon's disappearance feels so sudden and out of place that the audience has very few clues to figure out the ending beforehand. Thus we feel we know the exact same amount of information as Laura, making our search to figure out the film as desperate as Laura's search for her son.
The film is also backed by a great script with fantastic acting. This is just one of those very sincere films that knows exactly what it has set out to do, and doesn't detract from the main focus. It has some minor flaws in the storyline, as do most films, but everything is fairly excusable. The film also has some peculiar direction which I can't decide detracts or helps the films main point. The Orphanage is directed with a very low key visual eye, and it is not frantic or rushed in any way. The film is slow and almost majestic at times. In a way I felt like this film was almost too clean and too polished at times. Other times the sincerity of the direction was just right and at the perfect balance of horror and beauty. It is something that makes more sense in context, but hopefully the point I am trying to get across makes sense.
The Orphanage was a surprisingly good film, overall. It's not perfect but what movie is? I can give plenty of credit to a film that begins and ends very well. It definitely drags towards the middle and I wasn't sure if I was even going to rate this high or not before the films climax. But then the very end is absolutely incredible, and it is a very beautiful scene that really picked the whole film back up on its feet. Unfortunately the last thirty seconds the film decided to throw one last scene in that I felt the film could have done without, but it didn't ruin the ending by any means. This is a great film and there is a whole lot to be enjoyed here, even if you aren't a fan of horror.