Orphans (1998)
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47% of critics liked it
(19 reviews) -
74% of users liked it
(111 ratings)
Following his Cannes award-winning performance in Ken Loach's My Name is Joe, Scottish actor Peter Mullan made his feature script and directorial debut with this British dark comedy-drama about four adult siblings on the eve of their mother's funeral in Glasgow. Eldest son Thomas (Gary… More Following his Cannes award-winning performance in Ken Loach's My Name is Joe, Scottish actor Peter Mullan made his feature script and directorial debut with this British dark comedy-drama about four adult siblings on the eve of their mother's funeral in Glasgow. Eldest son Thomas (Gary Lewis) offers a tribute to her in a local pub, but his brother Michael (Douglas Henshall) is stabbed during a brawl at the bar, prompting third brother John (Stephen Cole) to seek vengeance. Michael evades medical treatment, trying to hold out until the next day in order to make a claim for workers compensation. Thomas leaves to join sister Sheila (Rosemarie Stevenson), who has cerebral palsy, in a night-long chapel vigil. The four attempt to reunite after they are separated when the full fury of a violent storm hits the town. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Directed By
- Peter Mullan
- Written By
- Peter Mullan
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1998 Wide
- On DVD
- Feb 27, 2001
- Studio
- Shooting Gallery
Critic Reviews
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
My guess is that Mullan never decided what tone his film should aim for; he fell in love with individual sequences without asking how they fit together.
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Tom Block, culturevulture.net
...a kitchen-sink drama that's full of old dishwater.
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Chuck Rudolph, Matinee Magazine
Writer-director Peter Mullan never seems clued in as to how hilariously atrocious Orphans is.
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Ed Kelleher, Film Journal International
Arguably one of the funnier and more heartfelt of the [crime movie] genre to come along of late.
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David N. Butterworth, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Worthwhile, even if the getting there isn't always easy.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Douglas Henshall
as Michael
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Gary Lewis
as Thomas
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Stephen Cole
as John
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Rosemarie Stevenson
as Sheila
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Frank Gallagher
as Tanga
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Alex Norton
as Hanson
- Stephen McCole
