Orphan (2009 film)

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Orphan
Orphanposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJaume Collet-Serra
Screenplay byDavid Leslie Johnson
Story byAlex Mace
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJeff Cutter
Edited byTimothy Alverson
Music byJohn Ottman
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • July 21, 2009 (2009-07-21) (Westwood)
  • July 24, 2009 (2009-07-24) (North America)
  • October 22, 2009 (2009-10-22) (Germany)
  • December 30, 2009 (2009-12-30) (France)
Running time
123 minutes
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[3]
Box office$78.8 million[3]

Orphan is a 2009 psychological horror film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by David Leslie Johnson from a story by Alex Mace. The film stars Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, C. C. H. Pounder and Jimmy Bennett. The plot centers on a couple who, after the death of their unborn child, adopt a mysterious nine-year-old girl.

The film is an international co-production between the United States, Canada, Germany and France. It was produced by Joel Silver and Susan Downey of Dark Castle Entertainment, and Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran of Appian Way Productions. Principal photography for the film took place in Canada, in the cities of St. Thomas, Toronto, Port Hope, and Montreal.

Orphan was released theatrically in the United States on July 24, 2009, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its dark humor, scares and Fuhrman's performance as Esther, but criticized its formulaic screenplay. The film grossed $78 million worldwide against a $20 million budget.

A prequel, titled Orphan: First Kill, is in development.

Plot[]

Kate and John Coleman's marriage is strained after the stillbirth of their third child Jessica, whose loss is particularly hard on Kate, a recovering alcoholic. The couple decide to adopt a 9-year-old Russian girl, Esther, from the local orphanage. While their 5-year-old deaf daughter Max embraces Esther, their 12-year-old son Daniel is cold towards her.

One night, John and Kate begin to have sex and Esther interrupts them. Kate becomes suspicious when Esther expresses far more knowledge of sex than expected of a child her age. Esther then exhibits hostile behavior in front of Max and Daniel, killing an injured pigeon and badly injuring a bullying classmate.

Sister Abigail, the head of the orphanage, visits the household, warning Kate and John that tragic events and accidents always seem to happen around Esther. To keep Sister Abigail from returning, Esther causes her to crash her car on the road, then bashes her head in with a hammer. She forces Max to help her hide the body, then hides the evidence in Daniel's treehouse. Daniel sees them at the treehouse and she threatens to kill him if he tells his parents.

As Kate becomes further convinced that Esther's behavior is sinister, John believes she is being paranoid. He tells Esther to do something nice for Kate. Esther rips out the flowers from Jessica's grave and gives it to Kate as a bouquet. Kate is horrified and roughly grabs Esther's arm, asserting that she did this on purpose. That night, Esther breaks her own arm and calls John for help, blaming Kate and causing further strife in their marriage. The next day, she releases the brake in the car, causing it to roll into oncoming traffic with Max inside. She also points out the wine bottle she found in the kitchen, causing John and Kate's therapist to think that Kate is drinking again, though she is not. They suggest she return to rehab, and John threatens to leave her and take the kids if she refuses. Kate discovers that Esther came from an Estonian mental hospital and the orphanage she claims she was from has no record of her.

When Daniel learns about Sister Abigail's death from Max and searches the treehouse, Esther sets it on fire and attempts to kill him but is thwarted by Max. Daniel is seriously injured and while in the hospital, Esther unsuccessfully smothers him. Kate, whose suspicions have been confirmed, strikes her and screams at her to stay away from her children, but she is restrained and sedated. That night, Esther attempts to seduce a drunken John, who threatens to send Esther back to the orphanage after finally realizing Kate had been right all along about Esther's behavior.

At the hospital, Kate is contacted by Dr. Värava of the Saarne Institute and learns that Esther is actually a 33-year-old woman named Leena Klammer born in Estonia. She has hypopituitarism, a rare hormonal disorder that stunted her physical growth and caused proportional dwarfism, and she has spent most of her life posing as a little girl. Leena is violent and has murdered at least seven people, including the last family that adopted her, after failing to seduce her adoptive father. The ribbons she wears around her wrists and neck have been hiding scars from trying to break out of straitjackets during her time at the institute. Meanwhile, Leena removes her disguise, revealing she wears dentures to hide bad teeth, and stabs John to death. Kate rushes home and Leena attempts to shoot her, wounding her arm. After Leena opens fire at Max, Kate breaks through the roof above and lands on top of her, knocking her out.

Kate and Max flee as police arrive, but Leena attacks Kate near the frozen pond, hurling them onto the ice. Max tries to shoot Leena but shatters the ice, sending Leena and Kate underwater. Kate climbs out, with Leena clinging to her legs. Leena pleads with "Mommy" to save her, while hiding a knife behind her back. Kate doesn't fall for Leena's pleading and screams that she's not her mother, before kicking a stunned Leena in the jaw, breaking her neck and killing her. Leena sinks into the icy pond as Kate and Max are met by police.

Cast[]

Production[]

Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard were cast in main roles in late November 2007.[4][5] Principal photography for the film took place in Canada, in the cities of St. Thomas, Toronto, Port Hope, and Montreal.[4]

Esther (Leena Klammer) of Estonia was inspired by the May 2007 media coverage[6] of 34-year-old Barbora Skrlova, an orphan who abused her first adoptive family and ran away from the police when caught. She eventually was found impersonating Adam, a thirteen-year old boy who had gone missing.[7]

Release[]

Orphan had its world premiere in Westwood, Los Angeles on July 21, 2009. The following day, it screened at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada. The film was released theatrically in North America on July 24, 2009. It was then released in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2009 by Optimum Releasing.

Home media[]

Orphan was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 27, 2009 in the United States by Warner Home Video and in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2009 by Optimum Releasing. The DVD includes deleted scenes, and the alternate ending. The opening previews also contain a public service announcement describing the plight of unadopted children in the United States and encouraging domestic adoption.

There were rumors about a new DVD edition called Orphan:Legacy Edition that would've included a extra one hour of unseen footage to the movie during DVD release and was scheduled for a January 2010 release but never happened for unknown reasons.

Reception[]

Box office[]

The film opened in the 4th spot at the box office, making a total of $12.8 million, behind G-Force, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and The Ugly Truth. The film went on to gross a worldwide total of $78.3 million.[3][8]

Critical response[]

Isabelle Fuhrman's performance as Esther was praised[9]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 56% based on 155 reviews, with an average rating of 5.60/10. The website's critics consensus read, "While it has moments of dark humor and the requisite scares, Orphan fails to build on its interesting premise and degenerates into a formulaic, sleazy horror/thriller."[10] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 42 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[11] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale.[12]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave Orphan 31⁄2 stars out of 4, writing: "You want a good horror film about a child from hell, you got one."[13] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle also gave a positive review, commenting: "Orphan provides everything you might expect in a psycho-child thriller, but with such excess and exuberance that it still has the power to surprise."[14] Todd McCarthy of Variety was less impressed, writing: "Teasingly enjoyable rubbish through the first hour, Orphan becomes genuine trash during its protracted second half."[15]

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote: "Actors have to eat like the rest of us, if evidently not as much, but you still have to wonder how the independent film mainstays Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard ended up wading through Orphan and, for the most part, not laughing."[16] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a D+ score, noting: "Orphan isn't scary – it's garish and plodding."[17] Keith Phipps from The A.V. Club wrote: "If director Jaume Collet-Serra set out to make a parody of horror film clichés, he succeeded brilliantly."[18]

Accolades[]

This film won the International Feature Length Competition Golden Raven at the 2010 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. It was also nominated Choice Summer Movie: Drama at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards.[citation needed]

Controversy[]

The film's depiction of a murderous adoptee was not well received by adoption groups.[19] The controversy caused filmmakers to change a line in one of their trailers from "It must be difficult to love an adopted child as much as your own," to "I don't think Mommy likes me very much."[20] Melissa Fay Greene of The Daily Beast commented:

"The movie Orphan comes directly from this unexamined place in popular culture. Esther's shadowy past includes Eastern Europe; she appears normal and sweet, but quickly turns violent and cruel, especially toward her mother. These are clichés. This is the baggage with which we saddle abandoned, orphaned, or disabled children given a fresh start at family life."[21]

There is a pro-adoption service message on the DVD, advising viewers to consider adoption.

Prequel[]

Main article: Orphan: First Kill

In February 2020, development of a prequel film was announced, titled Esther, with William Brent Bell signed on as director from a script by David Coggeshall. The project will be a joint-venture between eOne and Dark Castle Entertainment. Alex Mace, Hal Sadoff, Ethan Erwin and James Tomlinson will produce the film, with David Leslie Johnson as an executive producer. Production was set to begin summer 2020.[22] In October 2020, Julia Stiles said she was about to start working on the film.[23] In November, the title was changed to Orphan: First Kill, with Isabelle Fuhrman returning to star in the film.[24]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Orphan (2009) | BFI". BFI. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "LUMIERE : Film: Orphan". Lumiere. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Orphan (2009) – Financial Information". The Numbers.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Siegel, Tatiana (November 29, 2007). "Sarsgaard, Farmiga join 'Orphan'". Variety.
  5. ^ Barnes, Jessica (December 1, 2007). "Sarsgaard and Farmiga Join 'Orphan'". Moviefone. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  6. ^ "Missing "13-year-old" apparently diminutive 34-year-old woman". Radio Prague. 23 May 2007. Barbora Skrlova - who formerly worked with Katerina Mauerova - also seems to have played her part: the judge in the adoption procedure said she always had toys in her hands. Others said she hid behind a teddy bear.
  7. ^ Flowers, Maisy (19 May 2020). "Orphan True Story & Real Life Crime Explained". ScreenRant. Orphan is actually based on the true story of Barbora Skrlová, a woman who was discovered posing as a 13-year-old boy in Norway after she had escaped from another family where she had facilitated extreme child abuse on the family’s other children.
  8. ^ "Orphan (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  9. ^ Portman, Jamie (July 20, 2009). "Audiences Scream for Isabelle Fuhrman's "Orphan"". The Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on September 19, 2009.
  10. ^ "Orphan (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  11. ^ "Orphan Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  12. ^ "ORPHAN (2009) B-". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
  13. ^ Ebert, Roger (July 22, 2009). "Reviews: Orphan". Chicago Sun-Times.
  14. ^ LaSalle, Mick (July 23, 2009). "Review: Orphan". San Francisco Chronicle.
  15. ^ McCarthy, Todd (July 22, 2009). "Orphan Review". Variety.[dead link]
  16. ^ Dargis, Manohla (July 24, 2009). "New Kid in the House, Clearly Up to Something". The New York Times.
  17. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (July 27, 2009). "Orphan Movie Review". Entertainment Weekly.
  18. ^ Phipps, Keith (July 23, 2009). "Orphan Review". The A.V. Club.
  19. ^ "Adoption groups angry with 'Orphan' stereotypes". San Francisco Chronicle. July 17, 2009.
  20. ^ Abramowitz, Rachel (July 10, 2009). "Quick Takes: Uproar over Orphan movie". Los Angeles Times.
  21. ^ Greene, Melissa Fay (July 15, 2009). "The New Movie Parents Hate". The Daily Beast.
  22. ^ "Orphan Prequel". The Wrap. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  23. ^ Alexandra Pollard (15 October 2020). "Julia Stiles: 'I was obnoxiously precocious – a little too smarty pants'". The Independent.
  24. ^ John Squires (November 2, 2020). "'Orphan: First Kill': Isabelle Fuhrman Will Return as Esther in 'Orphan' Prequel Film!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved November 3, 2020.

External links[]

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