Órfãos

Two ignorant, semi-depraved brothers, dead-end kids abandoned by their parents and living (so to speak) in a condemned house near Newark, New Jersey, kidnap a drunken Irish dandy and hold him for ransom, but get more than they bargained for after daylight and sobriety transforms their prisoner into a cunning thief (and surrogate father). Director Alan J. Pakula makes little attempt to open up the stage play that inspired the film, and the artificial theatricality of the setting and dialogue doesn't translate well to the big screen. But the often absorbing dynamics between each of the three high-caliber actors is enough reason to recommend the play itself, if only to stage buffs.

This movie has a power that many movies lack. The acting by all three main characters is super. It's about two orphan brothers who try robbing another orphan. Instead of robbing him, they end up working for him. An awesome movie that shouldn't be missed!

i feel bad giving this movie such a good review. in the day and age we live in, anyone who reads this recommendation and sees Orphans will probably be shocked and disgusted. you will find NO special effects in Orphans. no glitz, no huge budget, and no big name actors. can you imagine?? no, what you find in this movie is a cast of three actors who absolutely bring three characters to life. the chemistry is amazing and the screenplay is among the best i've ever seen. Orphans is all based around three characters and one house. how do they possibly carry a four star movie without any explosions, without any computer generated effects, without any ben afleck?! see the dying art of acting and script writing in it's finest form before all we're left with is style and no substance. 10/10

EDIT: I was a teenager when I wrote this user comment. I had just seen Orphans for the first time and obviously left a very reactionary review. While my comments aren't the most well informed or mature, they do reflect my feelings at the time so I will not change them. I just wanted to add that while I am now in my mid 20s and find my above comments very silly, I still love this movie and consider it one of my all time favorites.

This drama was very powerful in spots but I found it too uncomfortable in the long run. It was interesting but, frankly, I wouldn't want to see it again. Two young guys (at time time) - Matthew Modine ("Treat") and Kevin Anderson ("Phillip") - play characters that not always each to watch. It gets a little too mean-spirited, as the latter is mentally slow.

As interesting as those two guys are, the best character is played by Albert Finney. His role as "Harold" - nobody has a last name in this movie - is hard to figure at times. He is older than the other two guys, low-life mental cases, and he winds up being kidnapped by the younger guys. He, too, as it turns out, was an orphan and all three share a sad and somewhat sordid backgrounds. He winds up just about being a foster-type father to these kidnappers. However, there are strong homosexual overtones in this movie, too, which could lead to other conclusions. It's a bizarre story.

Whatever, this is extremely well-acted movie but too unpleasant for my tastes.

Yeah a complete 10. Hard but excellent. As you follow along it draws you in. The story is good, I even step back and notice the slow camera work. So So intimate, like you get to experience a private showing of a great play right in your living room.

....I wish to mention one review above by ccthemovieman...it speaks of homosexual issues. I only hope you are young or from some other perspective...because this emotional charged story is just about " a little encouragement , a squeeze of the shoulder" really nothing more , no overtones , or other issues. It is just caring. Human caring and encouragement. Very simple, very pure. Remember this was a while ago when it was OK for males to touch and not get arrested or whatever. Society's...people's loss that that has gotten so cloudy/avoided.

So no I feel there is no homosexual suggestions or whatever in this story. ....perhaps has to do with the eye of the beholder?? I remembered this when saw it prob 25 yrs ago ....just finally found and bought it. Just as powerful as I recall.