Orphan

'Orphan' is a horror movie that starts out like many others - the nice family who wants to share their love and adopt and they get a demon seed child.

If we were going on a trip and started out with that as our roadmap, we'd wind up in Timbuktu, assuming we were not intending to go to Timbuktu. There are layers upon damaged layers to add to the family's backstory, and then more layers to the orphan's. Those layers don't always make the story better.

I don't think I've ever felt this conflicted about a movie before. On the one hand, just superb acting jobs by all involved. I found myself really watching Vera Farmiga as the leading role of Kate, the mom. We don't remember seeing her before, which I'm sure is an oversight - she has a long IMDB resume. She is a fabulous actress. There seemed to be so many small things in her performance - small breaths and looks and sounds that made her seem natural and like she's not acting.

Peter Sarsgaard ("Jarhead") is the dad and does a good job with what he's given. Isabelle Fuhrman is the lead - the orphan Esther and she just does a great job.

On the other hand, the story itself is really flawed - in so many, many ways. It led to a discussion on the way home of how many ways it made no sense. It also drags on the same note for some time... Robert really tired of it and was quite bored.

The violence is pretty extreme and there are several devices that are wrong all the way around - like the brutal use of a small, deaf girl as an emotional pull. It does create quite a bit of tension in multiple places.

I think this movie hits you, waits for you to bruise, then presses and presses and presses on that bruise until you yell "ORPHAN".

The day to day small dialogue was very good, while the big picture story was not. I wondered if two sets of writers were involved. If so, the small dialogue writers won.

This should get two ratings - one for the acting (a '4') and one for the story (a '1') so I guess we'll average out to a '3'.

Pueblo Tinseltown was the place on this hot but rainy Sunday. We decided against popcorn in a very rare moment, as we're each just getting past some minor illness.