This picture, as well as Ken Loach's "My Name Is Joe" (featuring Peter Mullan's award-winning performance in the lead role) clearly show that Scotland is at the forefront of quality film in the British Isles (and I don't mean Trainspotting, which it is nothing like, Mr. D Throat). Harsh, sometimes far-fetched but most often allowing Mullan's endearing humanist take on relationships and bereavement to shine through, "Orphans" has at once tremendous power and sensitivity. Superb casting, emotive performances and some great jokes (the bathroom window scene in particular) make this the British film of 1999 (to think we had to wait 2 years for it's release, although some might see this as fortunate considering Mullan's standing since "...Joe".
It's not often I cry in a cinema, but "Orphans" had me in tears at both the beginning and end of the film, and even at the end of the credits, where a small, discreet dedication made sense of how deep the emotion goes. Even makes one contemplate one's own family life, and that surely is the biggest compliment!
Truly wonderful.
It's not often I cry in a cinema, but "Orphans" had me in tears at both the beginning and end of the film, and even at the end of the credits, where a small, discreet dedication made sense of how deep the emotion goes. Even makes one contemplate one's own family life, and that surely is the biggest compliment!
Truly wonderful.