ORPHAN (WB, 2009) D: Jaume Collet-Serra, w/ Isabelle Fuhrman, Vera Farmiga. Rating: NNN DVD package: NN Rating: NNN
An old-fashioned evil-child suspenser, Orphan cranks out a fair amount of tension, some unintended laughs and a profoundly creepy villain.
[rssbreak]
Upper-middle-class couple Kate and John (Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard) adopt nine-year old Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), and we know something is wrong right away. Esther dresses like the last of the Romanovs and is far too polite. Scheming and murder ensue.
The whole show depends on Fuhrman. She’s gloriously shudder-inducing, with her prissy walk and almost invisible smile, and pulls a brilliant third-act transformation into full-blown head case.
Despite an overlong set-up, a few too many pointless shocks and a ludicrous sex scene in the kitchen, director Jaume Collet-Serra knows how to turn the screws.
Esther gets a Norma Desmond moment in the alternate ending. It’s fun but doesn’t really work with the rest of the movie, which has nothing at all to do with Sunset Boulevard.
EXTRAS Deleted scenes, alternate ending. Widescreen. English, French, Spanish audio and subtitles.
