Anyone seen "Orphan" (spoilers)

Just saw it last night, and I actually really enjoyed it. Yes, it was cheesy in places but it was a lot more fun than I thought. And Esther was a way more fun evil “child” than Joshua. And of course, there were goofs all over the place but I think that’s to be expected.

For those who have seen it, was the deal that Esther had a body that was the size of a nine year old’s and somewhat developed but less developed than an average 33 year old’s? (That would explain the binding down of her hips/breasts and her wearing the long loose dresses, instead of jeans.)

Also, also, was she wearing make up the whole time to make herself look nine, in addition to wearing the fake teeth?

I believe a couple of people in this thread have seen it.

Oops. Sorry. I did a search for Orphan but not for “Orphan.” That must have been why I missed it. Thanks, faithfool.

No problem. Glad to help. :slight_smile:
And it sounds like something I’ll definitely be seeing whenever it makes it to DVD.

It was one of 6 movies I saw this weekend, and I really enjoyed it too. The difference between us is that I figured it would be good because Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard were in it. I assumed there had to have been something interesting in the script for those two to agree to be in it. It couldn’t have been just a paycheck movie because it was a low budget film, and those two are such stellar actors and so well-known in the indie community that neither of them needed to take a mediocre horror film for the credit. So I knew just by them being in it that it was going to be special, and it was.

Greatest horror film ever made? No, of course not, but I found it interesting and original and truly scary, and somewhat funny at times, and the acting by everyone was tremendous.

And that other thread sucks balls. No way would I post in it, so thanks for starting this one Freudian Slit.

Yeah, now that I’ve seen it, the other thread does seem a bit negative.

And I was happy to see Peter Sarsgaard as well (I don’t know Vera Farmiga’s work other than the movie Joshua where she was in a similar role). I liked Sarsgaard though his character was pretty infuriating. I guess he’d have to be for the plot to work, though.

I don’t mind if people who saw it didn’t like it, but a big chunk of the thread is people who haven’t seen it saying it’s going to be really awful, mainly the OP asking for spoilers because they’re just absolutely certain that the movie’s going to be really awful no matter what, and then people saying how really awful it just has to be based on reading the spoilers. I didn’t read the thread until after I saw the movie because I didn’t want to be spoiled about anything. I didn’t even watch the trailer or read a synopsis or review, and I’m very glad.

Yeah, I’ll agree that Joshua put her in a similar situation, as the mom of a weirdo kid. She’s so far been so utterly wasted by Hollywood that it’s disgusting. So far the only big-name movie she’s been in where you’d notice her is The Departed, as Matt Damon’s lover and Leonardo DiCaprio’s therapist. Not a great role, but it was nice to see her in something that cost more than $1.98 to make. She’s mostly been featured in teeny tiny indie films like 2004’s Down to the Bone, where there was even a brief bit of Oscar talk about her role, which would have done for her what Oscar nominations did for Janet McTeer, Marion Cotillard, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Keisha Castle-Hughes and others (that is, up their face and name recognition). She will be on the podium one of these days, but it’s going to take more than bit roles, girlfriend roles, outstanding feature roles in tiny mediocre movies (which is never the actor’s fault) or mothers of creepy kids roles to do it. Her next movie is with George Clooney, so while probably not an awards-level film, it should get her more attention.

Yeah, it was hardly Sarsgaard’s best role, but the character’s wife had given him reason in the past to not trust her, and he had made the first connection with Esther, so his cluelessness was understandable. Sarsgaard’s another actor who’s been under-appreciated and wasted, but at least he’s been given more chances than Farmiga.

I think mainly what this movie did was make me want to keep track of the careers of the writer (David Johnson), the director (Jaume Collet-Serra) and the actress who played Esther, Isabelle Fuhrman. She was fantastic. The only other thing I’d seen her in was the reviled (unfairly, IMO) Hounddog, but I didn’t recognize her from that so it was like seeing her for the first time. Plus the little girl who played Max (Aryana Engineer) was extremely good, and conveyed everything she needed to convey with no dialogue at all. Very impressive, especially considering this was her first movie.

Speaking of the kids, I knew I’d seen that boy (Jimmy Bennett) somewhere before but I couldn’t place where. After checking his IMDB page, I realized that not only had I been seeing him in numerous previews for the upcoming Robert Rodriguez film Shorts, he was the young asshole “James Tiberius Kirk” who crashes the beautiful antique car off the cliff. I’d been seeing that Star Trek teaser for months and months, dozens of times, before the movie finally opened, and I just wanted to take him and slap the holy shit out of him. Words could not express how much I hated him and that teaser. Steal, joyride, then destroy a fine vintage automobile, and then act all cocky to the cop, little bastard. It speaks to Bennett’s acting skills that I never recognized him as the young Kirk I hated so much for so long.

That was him?! I thought he looked familiar. Apparently he was also in the remake of Amityville Horror which I saw a while ago. Awesome.

I know! I was shocked too. My exact reaction was the same, that was him?! I didn’t see the Amityville Horror remake, or his other big roles in Poseidon and Evan Almighty.

Btw, I should clarify that I loved Star Trek, The Recent Movie. I just hated the teaser.

I don’t normally see horror films, but the reviews made me really curious.

I liked it. Really creepy, especially when Jon turns on the black light and sees the paintings, when he realizes what he has let into his home.

Bit of a plot hole though: Obviously Esther couldn’t let a dentist examine her or have a physical from an MD, or the cat would be out of the bag.

But wouldn’t a complete physical (and dental checkup) be mandatory at the orphanage at the time of admission?

Yeah, I was wondering about that, too. Also, wouldn’t an MD have noticed something when she was examined for the broken arm?

I also liked that the parents were John and Kate.

There were too many plot holes in this thing to count. Adoption is a long, often expensive process that can take years-the film leads us to believe that anyone with a hankering for a kid can drop by an orphanage run by nuns (!), fill out a bit of paperwork, and bring home a kid the same week. There don’t seem to be any standards for the adoptive parents either; in real life I don’t think a recovering alcoholic reeling from the devastation of a stillbirth whose child very recently almost drowned because she was passed out drunk would (or should) be able to adopt.
That being said, I really enjoyed this film. It delivered suspense and a few scares-exactly what it promised to.