Review of Orphan

Orphan (2016)
5/10
The sum less than its parts
8 April 2021
Indeed we have 3 out of 4 good stories in this movie. Unfortunately my favourite beauties/actresses of this ensamble (A. Exarchopoulos and G. Arterton) got the bad one with a terrible script/direction: confusing while paradoxically serving more as the link among the stories than as a (good) story itself. Paradoxically, because it should be the part that gives consistency to the plot, but it's the opposite.

Why x did that? And what happened to y? Why? It's better you don't ask yourself too many questions because you won't get an answer from the movie, resulting in a general detachment from what you see.

3 stories out of 4 are nonetheless potentially good/great (Orpheline refers to their uncertain origin I guess?), with good or even great acting (A. Haenel giving birth scene is a must watch) but they are too short and underdeveloped.

Pity because - as a lover of women - I would really like to give a higher vote.

And it's not simply a matter of screenplay: it has nothing relevant going on and the characters aren't certainly intellectuals! Any line can be changed in a thousand ways and nothing would really improve-worsen.

I blame instead the director who could not recognize how bad the final result is compared to the potential he had in his hands in terms of plot and cast. He could have gotten away with a 4 hours version (1 hour per actress) but as it is it's just a curiosity and a fan-watch.
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