Unraveling the Mystery: An Analysis of the Film Orphan

Sponsoring and adopting orphans

Sponsoring and adopting orphans is an act recommended by laws and religion. Orphans are usually weak creatures that need attention constant protection and care due to losing their parents (Edlins).

The movie “Orphan”

An adoption is a novel act, throughout history, there are a lot of adoption stories of children who were raised to become good members of the community. Not all adoption stories are however successful; the movie orphan depicts such a scenario. What makes the film to be an amazing horror story is the content of the film. The film is centered on a couple of John and Kate Coleman who adopt Esther, a mysterious nine-year-old girl after the death of their unborn child.

The story of an orphan with a sadistic personality

The couple is experiencing some strain in their marriage after the death of their child and also due to Kate drinking heavily, seeking to assuage her incapacity to conceive. Immediately after they adopt Esther a series of events begin to unfold in their house. The events lead Kate into believing that there is something wrong with Esther who appears as a sweet and normal girl but quickly turns into a cruel and violent person, especially towards her mother. Kate starts investigating the past of Esther and learns that she was housed in a mental institution and that she is a 33 year old lady (MASYKUR). Orphan offers a twist ending which is very unpredictable.

The interesting aspects of the movie

There are four aspects which make the movie to be extremely interesting. The first is the story of an orphan who has a very uncommon phenomenon which happens with her personality. She has an innocent face which covers her sadistic personality. The second aspect is the theme of the movie. One of the main messages that the director of the film appears to deliver is that sadism can sometimes be hidden behind innocent appearances. There are a lot of scenes in the film which depict shocking secrets which come from Esther’s personality. The film provides a horror sensation from the brutal action carried out by Esther when she kills people.

The unique casting of the film

The third aspect which makes ‘Orphan’ unique is the casting of the film. The movie was shot in Canada in three cities, Montreal, Toronto, and Port Hope. The cast of the movie stars famous actors such as Vera Farmiga an academy nominee, Peter Sarsgaard, a golden globe nominee, introducing Jimmy Bennett, Isabelle Fuhrman Aryana engineer, and a lot of great cast members. Isabelle Fuhrman makes very successful acting which builds Esther’s character as a very sadistic person who has the brutally and sadistic personality lying within her innocent face. All the members of the cast deliver all around solid performances.

The visualization aspect of the film

The visualization aspect is also a unique factor of the film. The movie has good visualization which uses special screening horror. The audience is made to feel enthusiastic about the horror movie. Orphan produces such as horror and shocking sensation to the audience of the film due to the crime action carried out by Esther in brutally killing her victims, portraying her as a murderer who is demonic. In most films, the villain is usually the antagonist, since it is the goals of the villain which are to be met however in Esther, she does well in pushing the conventions of the genre since it’s her who becomes the protagonist in the movie. The audience in a film is usually not enticed to identify with killers the notion is, however, a recurring aspect in an orphan.

Notable scenes in the film

There are certain scenes which particularly stand out during the film; the first scene is at the playground where the female school bully realizes that Esther is watching her in the playground. The bully cautiously makes her way to the playground and then goes up into a detailed play set while cautiously looking around. When she finally reaches the opening located above the sliding board, Esther quickly rushes forward, pushing her out which results in the girl clipping herself and breaking her ankle on the board and lastly she hits the ground hard. The scene is skillfully set to arouse the interest of the audience, even though the audience has a small glimpse of what is about to happen the scene builds up the tension through the various distractions which scare the bully until eventually, Esther pushes her off the board.

The next interesting scene is Leena’s painting scene. In the scene, John walks into Esther’s bedroom and while he is leaving he encounters a painting on the wall. Upon opening the light in the room, he sees a series of dark horror painting which depicts various forms of murder. The painting is artistically drawn depicting the violent side of Esther, upon further investigation, John discovers other paintings on the wall covered by the paper paintings which depict graphic sexual scenes. The scene offers hope for the audience since it is when John starts understanding the true nature of Esther which late had been telling her from the beginning.

Works Cited

Edlins, Mariglynn. “Superhero, Sleeping Beauty, or Devil? The Making of Orphan Myths and Public Administration.” (2015).

Masykur, Sofyan. ”Manipulations Depicted in Orphan Movie.” Ph.D. Diss., State Islamic University, (2016).