I n the Glasgow, Scotland harbor, on a cloudy windy morning after a storm, a man's bleeding body floats on a frail piece of wood. For all its artsy beauty, this poster image for Orphans , the writing and directing debut of actor Peter Mullan, is misleading, for it depicts perhaps the only serene moment in the film, one that interrupts the stabbing, shooting, screaming, inclement weather, and other calamities that rage on as four grown-up siblings mourn their mother's early death.
Orphans constructs comedy from heartbreaking circumstances.
Between this point and the funeral ceremony, their grief grows out of control. Michael is stabbed, but refuses to have his wound treated, hoping to claim compensation for it as an industrial injury at work the next morning. For the remainder of the night he roams the city, oozing blood. At a first glance, these episodes may seem odd as mourning rituals, but they seem more and more appropriate as the film proceeds to establish extremes of pain, grief, and duty as the norm for its characters. The film also creates extreme chaos, partly by constantly shifting attention from one protagonist to another and back, and thus illuminating each character's perspective and predicament.