Rated on a 4-star scale
UK
Directed by Peter Mullan
Written by Peter Mullan
CAST.....
Douglas Henshall..... Michael
Gary Lewis..... Thomas
Stephen McCole..... John
Rosemarie Stevenson..... Sheila
Frank Gallagher..... Tanga
Alex Norton..... Hanson
At the end of the screening of "Orphans" I attended, I heard a woman call it "certainly bleak" and "a morality play". She added that it was "surreal" and she was "not quite sure what to make of it". In only a few sentences, she'd managed to show complete misconception of everything she'd seen for the past two hours.
"Orphans" is not a morality play, it's a totally straight drama, to be taken at face value. Like February's "Hilary and Jackie", it exists to spend time with characters it loves. Pretentious over-analysing would easily miss this, and perhaps that's why the woman was unsure of how to form an opinion. It's about real life, therefore anything but surreal, and it's only bleak if that's your view of the world.
The film takes place in the tough, cold and dirty streets of Glasgow. The Flynn family, the patriarch of which died years ago, have just lost their matriarch too, and we follow them through the long dark night before the funeral. Thomas (Gary Lewis), the most traditional and devout of the children in this Catholic family, as well as the oldest, plans to keep his promise to the parish priest, and single-handedly get through the wake come hell or -- quite literally -- high water. Michael (Douglas Henshall), a few years younger, is forever the seething scrapper of the family, even though he knows better, and would do well to focus energy on stepping up from his dead-end job to support his kid. John (Stephen McCole), the youngest brother, is a passionate lad determined to shake off his college-boy reputation and avenge a recent attack on Michael. Sheila (Rosmarie Stevenson), the youngest of all the siblings, is severely handicapped, and finds herself in grave danger when the arrogant refusal of Thomas to leave church lands her stranded in the inner city.
Even though most of us don't have families quite like this, "Orphans" still feels very familiar. It captures the atmosphere of its settings brilliantly, in a way that inspires emotional as well as visual recognition -- the look, the pace and the feel of reality is conveyed in a triumph of perceptiveness, and I don't remember an artificial note in the whole piece. Even the way the screenplay invariably follows every big laugh with a moment of shock or tragedy does not come across as methodical -- the situations dictate this rhythm and tone.
I was surprised how quickly and deeply I got involved in this movie -- to be perfectly honest, TV clips I saw made it look awful. In reality, it is so filled with memorable images that an attempt at listing them threatens to become a transcript. Images such as the beautiful long take that opens the picture... The way a gunshot victim drowns in his own blood as a hilarious Billy Connolly tape plays in the background... The way a character argues with a bus, and tries to push it over... The several unfortunate fates befalling a statue of the Virgin Mary... The decidedly unusual game of darts used to settle an argument with a psychotic pub landlord...
"Orphans" was directed by Peter Mullan, the actor who won critical acclaim for his role in "My Name is Joe", as well as an award at Cannes. It's his debut behind the camera, but in tackling something so emotionally and tonally complex, he shows confidence that few directors, let alone first-timers, ever display. His personal passion for the project shines through, as does a mass of talent and intelligence.
COPYRIGHT© 1999 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
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