Orphan

Katherine (Vera Farmiga) is a woman who has not yet recovered from the mental pain of losing her baby. Besides, she's had other problems including drinking, losing her teaching job (and possibly not being faithful to her husband) Anyway... she now has a happy family consisting of her husband, son and daughter (who's deaf) and a nice, big house to live in too! Thats when Katherine gets the idea of adopting a girl to replace her lost child. They visit an orphanage and happens across a girl, Esther, who seems to be innocent and talented. She is also smart beyond her years and woos them into adopting her with her impeccable manners - including her dressing style which she will not abandon. She forges a good relation with almost everyone even exerting a great influence on the deaf girl. But as time progresses, problems start appearing wherever she is and Katherine gets suspicious. She gets down to investigate the girl's history following a hint from the orphanage. But she starts getting doubted by her husband, who thinks her former problems are reappearing. And she also has to face open hostility from the girl - who is suprisingly mature for her age and a smart adversary.

The movie is set in a snowy American town and the cold winter is a perfect setting for the movie. The "Russian" orphan is a good choice and shifts effortlessly from charming to creepy. Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Up in the Air) is also good as the mother. The film could be categorised as more of a thriller than a horror, and has a pretty decent ending.

• Approx Runtime: 2:00
• Genre: Thriller/Horror/Adoption/Family/Drama
• Acting 7.5
• Story 7
• Soundtrack/Score 6
• Cinematography 7
• Overall 7.5

Notable Mentions/Quotes:

• Nice acting by the cast
• Ending has what is possibly a homage to Leonardo di Caprio, one of the producers
• (After Esther seeing her in a compromising position with her husband) Katherine: When grownups love each other very, very much... they want to show each other that lovel they want to express it...
  Esther: I know. They f___