Film review: Orphan

Published on Friday 7 August 2009 14:57

orphan (15) ***

Suffer the little children, for they know not what they do - except in horror movies, where angelic tykes are frequently messengers of destruction.

Patty McCormack chilled the heart of every parent in the mid-1950s with her unforgettable portrayal of The Bad Seed, followed by bloodcurdling favourites such as Village Of The Damned, The Other, The Omen and Children Of The Corn.

A little girl in search of a loving family proves a handful for her adopted parents in Jaume Collet-Serra's brutal thriller, which has somehow been classified a 15 certificate.

Orphan is not for the faint of heart, with graphic scenes of stabbing and bludgeoning with a hammer.

Screenwriter David Leslie Johnson abides by convention, opening with a nightmarish hospital-room scene that sets the grisly tone.

He peppers the narrative with all the usual scares, then opts for copious blood-letting for the overwrought finale that conceals a clever twist we sense is coming, even though we're not sure how Johnson will pull it off.

Kate Coleman (Vera Farmiga) and her husband John (Peter Sarsgaard) are devastated by the loss of their unborn child, who they name Jessica. Therapist Dr Browning (Margo Martindale) attempts to heal the deep emotional wounds but Kate's alcoholism, which almost led to their young daughter drowning, continues to drive the couple apart.

The Colemans decide to re-ignite that loving feeling by adopting a child.

So they visit an orphanage run by Sister Abigail (CCH Pounder) and fall in love with lonely Russian girl Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman).

Instantly smitten, Kate and John complete the paperwork and bring Esther home to meet their brood: Daniel (Jimmy Bennett) and profoundly deaf daughter Max (Aryana Engineer).

The boy is jealous of Esther's hold over his parents, but Max is delighted to have a big sister to take care of her.

Little do the Colemans know that Esther has a secret - one that will bring death and misery to their community.

Orphan generates a palpable sense of doom from its gloomy opening frames, then continues to crank up the tension as Esther reveals her true nature.

Farmiga and Sarsgaard spend the majority of the film screaming at each other, while Fuhrman delivers a genuinely creepy supporting turn as a pint-sized sociopath.

Serra slathers on the gore and entrails in a final showdown that would undoubtedly traumatise little Max for life.

DAMON SMITH

ALSO SHOWING

MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT (L'INSTINCT DE MORT) (15)

Released in two parts at opposite ends of this month, Mesrine is an epic and brutal tale of crime and punishment inspired by the true-life exploits of one of France's most notorious criminals.

Director Jean-Francois Richet pulls no punches with the explosions of violence as he chronicles the rise and fall of Jacques Mesrine in a smidgen over four hours in the two films.

The first chapter, Killer Instinct, opens with split screens showing Mesrine (Vincent Cassel) and his accomplice and girlfriend Sylvie (Ludivine Sagnier) trying to sneak out of late-1970s Paris in disguise, only to be ambushed at traffic lights by gun-toting police.

The action rewinds to 1959 Algeria to trace Mesrine's early years in the French army before he returns home to develop his skills as an armed robber for slimy crime boss Guido (Gerard Depardieu). Comparisons to Scarface are justified even though Richet's magnum opus doesn't quite attain the lofty heights of the Brian De Palma classic.

ADAM (12A)

Writer-director Max Mayer's drama is a sobering portrait of romantic travails in New York City, proving beyond doubt that polar opposites attract.

At the film's heart is a strong performance from British actor Hugh Dancy as an orphan living with Asperger's syndrome. Adam (Dancy) lives alone in the apartment he used to share with his late father, working as an electronics engineer by day and gazing dreamily at the stars by night.

With family friend Harlan (Frankie Faison) watching over him, Adam learns to do laundry by himself and to shop for the packets of macaroni and cheese which constitute his daily diet.

Kindergarten teacher Beth (Rose Byrne) is attracted to Adam, to the consternation of her parents (Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving) who want their little girl to marry someone with prospects. A high-functioning autistic simply won't do and as Beth finds herself falling for her neighbour, even she has to concede: "He's never told me that he loves me. I don't know what it would mean to him if he did." Adam is an engaging and offbeat love story.

THE MEERKATS (U)

Narrated by Paul Newman from a script written by Alexander McCall Smith, the best-selling author of The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, The Meerkats is a fascinating documentary about these most lovable and entertaining creatures.

Director James Honeyborne and his crew spent six months in the Kalahari desert, tracing the life of a meerkat called Kolo from birth, through infancy and into adulthood as he copes with the harsh realities of life in a treacherous environment.