Orphan distributed by Warner Bros in collaboration with
Westwood is a 2009 psychological thriller.
It opens it with various production companies appearing on
screen flashing with aluminous paint splatters across them. This gives a hint
to parts and aspects of the film without giving it away. The darkness and the
eerie non-deictic music and sounds play in the background giving the viewer a
feel for the film and its genre straight away. The title orphan flashes onto
screen and the same is done again making it look simultaneously childlike,
creepy and official.
White lights then consume the title and a man and women (the
parents) walk through it in a non-focused centre shot. The non-focus shows the
viewer something is off. The couple walk further in together however the light
behind them in still very bright and shows something is off. The two talk as
you get close up shots of the two walking in and their facial expressions.
As the women sits you can see several close ups of her facial
expressions and hear her moans to show she’s in pain and the man’s concern and
comfort of her. This establishes their relationship to the viewer, more so as
he addresses her as is wife.
As a bird of view of the nurse wheeling the women out several
shots and camera angles and the light from behind again indicate to the viewer
that something is wrong with the scene. The slow paced editing and the build-up
of the unnerving music intensifies this. This comes to fruition shown much more
as you see blood on the women’s hand and dripping from the wheelchair. The gore
of this and the shock establishes the movie as a horror to the viewers.
There is then a cut to
the women lying on a surgical table with people working around her. The
diegetic sound of the beeping of heart monitors around her and the sound of
surgical gloves snapping on again creates and unnerving feel. The close up off surgeons
and hers around her from eye line matches of her on the bed put the viewer in
the prospective of her and show the trauma she is going through.
Her screams and the blood and the lights create an intense
feeling for the viewer as things gradually become faster paced. The women is
then handed a blood covered screaming baby. It then has a jump cut to her lying
in her bed having woken from a dream.
She walks towards two mirrors that cut her frame in half
showing the viewer she feels like shes less of a person due to what happened.
She then stands and stares at herself before lifting her top to reveal a
surgical scar from a C-section and taking pills. This shows that she’s probably
traumatized from the events that lead to it the hence the nightmares.
The camera pans upwards and away from Kate sat in the
bathroom. The wall turns into a snowy scene and a window. This establishing
shot show as she’s sat in a therapist office. A shot reverse shot shows she’s
talking about adoption and the baby. This establishes what’s going to happen in
the film and past events leading up to it for the viewers.
She scene then cuts to a establishing shot of a school for
the deaf showing parents and children signing and showing to the viewer that
she has a deaf child. The child comes running out and they talk about her
drawing. This establishes the good relationship she has with this child.
There is a shot of Kate and her daughter in the car waiting
to cross. She sees a pregnant mother and then hears a beeping horn. She pulls
out but quickly almost collided with a truck. This establishes her guilt gain
over what happened and how she has not yet moved on to the audience.
A tracking shot of the car pulling up to a home and then Kate
playing on the piano. The diegetic sound of the piano fills the shot. This is
shown to the audience as the only time she seems to feel at peace. She’s shown
through an external shot outside through the window as she composes however
she’s constantly interrupted by sounds of knocking of a ball.
She goes outside to shout at her daughter Max and tell her to
stop however soon feels guilty and apologises. Their conversation is
interrupted by her husband and son who join in the play. She looks on as if she
doesn’t fit into this picture. She tries to talk to her son Daniel but he runs
inside furthering her isolation.
There is a shot of Max getting into bed and asking her mum to
read to her. As she takes out her hearing aids the shot goes silence with just
quite music playing. This shows the viewer her point of view. The story is of a
child whose baby sister is still born, showing this is how Max was told that
she wasn’t getting a baby sister as she’d passed away. This scene establishes
closeness for Max and her mother and shows their relationship. She asks her mother if shes going to get a new sister and her mum says I don't know. Again suggesting that they are going to adopt.
The scene cuts to the mother writing and moving a leaflet about a home for girls. This again suggests to the audience adoption. She then goes and takes some pills. It suggests health issues perhaps mental to the audience. She's then scared and umps when her husband appears behind her but he apologizes quickly and they kiss suggesting a close relationship. However she pulls away and he says he get's it suggesting a lack of intimacy. She crawls into bed and they talk about how they feel and adoption.
An establishing shot shows that they've gone to the home for girls and have decided to adopt. Laughing is heard and POV shot from a window suggests that someone is watching them but ducks down quickly when seen.
They walk inside and see children running around and playing but the dad goes out into the hallway and hears music. He walks up the stairs towards it. Here he sees paintings on the walls and then you see through a door a child painting.
