The Orphanage - Guillermo Del Toro

[Bishop Rook]

Just got back from a showing. I cannot recommend it enough, especially for anyone who appreciated Del Toro's previous work in Pan's Labyrinth. He's stepped away from the director's chair into the producer's for this outing, leaving directing duties to Juan Antonio Bayona, but you wouldn't be able to tell. The Orphanage is absolutely soaked in Del Toro's style.

There are several good performances among the cast, and a few mediocre ones--Fernando Cayo as Carlos and Geraldine Chaplin as Aurora stood out positively to me, while Roger Príncep as Simón was rather unconvincing even for his age. But probably at least 75% of the movie's screen time is devoted solely to Belén Rueda as Laura, so that is by far the most important role, and they cast it perfectly. Rueda is in this film as stunningly well-cast as Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, and Maribel Verdú were in Pan's Labyrinth, and her performance alone makes what would have been "just" a good movie into an excellent one.

Without revealing too much of the plot, I'll say that the ending of The Orphanage was in some ways similar to the ending of Pan's Labyrinth, in that it forces you to go back and reexamine the plot to wonder what's real and what isn't--and like Pan's Labyrinth, the film does not give a nicely pre-packaged answer to that question. In a way, this is where Del Toro transcends M. Night Shyamalan, to whom he will be inevitably compared. Like Shyamalan, Del Toro is a master of keeping the viewer in blissfully bewildered suspense until everything snaps together at the end of the film; but unlike Shyamalan, Del Toro allows a hint of that bewilderment to linger, leaves much of the true reality or unreality of the plot open to interpretation, and in doing so, creates an experience that lingers in your mind long after you've left the theater. Also as in Pan's Labyrinth, there are a number of scenes and objects that end up having great significance later in the plot; however, unlike in that previous film, none of these feel unnecessary, and no threads feel like they're left hanging by the time the film has ended.

With little other than gore porn flooding the horror genre for some years now, it's always refreshing to see a subtle diamond like this one in the rough. There are only a couple popcorn-on-the-ceiling moments, and they are paced well enough that they never become quite predictable. There were several occasions during the film where I steeled myself for a shock moment I knew was coming, that never came; and a few others where I was duly startled out of my seat. There are very few gory or visually disturbing sequences. And if you've seen the ads for the movie, you've already seen the majority of the violence and threat of mortal danger. Somehow, using just a couple dashes of all these spices, Del Toro and Bayona create an oppressive sense of tension that never truly lets up. Those with heart conditions may wish to steer clear, because I'm quite healthy but mine was racing through the film's entire length.

My biggest complaint with the movie may be that in some areas, the music did not exactly fit the mood, or perhaps felt like it was trying to drive it. Some scenes where there may not have otherwise been much tension are made artificially more suspenseful by adding a crescendo of off-key strings, leaving the viewer expecting something frightening to happen which never comes. This may have been another effort to keep the viewers "on their toes" so to speak, and make it harder to predict when the real shock and horror moments will be, but the effect felt forced and like it didn't give the audience enough credit.

And if that's the biggest complaint I can come up with about this movie? Well. Go see it.

On edit: I realize belatedly that I may have given Del Toro too much credit for the film and Bayona too little, above. This may be because I didn't realize Del Toro was not the director until after I got home and pulled up IMDB to write this review, while I was dead certain he was directing while watching the film. It really is that close to his style. But I do offer my apologies to Mr. Bayona.

[Mojorabbit]

1. Thanks for the review

I'll put it on my must see list.

[AmyDeLune]

2. I Second your review!

I saw a sneak preview Thursday and was pleasantly surprised high-suspense, low-gore factor.

I will add that like Pan's Labyrinth, this film is in Spanish with English sub-titles, which might bother some people (not me, but some people...:))

[YOY]

3. See "The Devil's BAckbone" and "La Umbrujo"

All very good...