Film
Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
- Home
- Box Office
- Listings
- Trailers
- Features
Bookmark this page- Edition:
Orphans (1997)
Director: Peter Mullan
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Their mother dead, the Flynns - Thomas (Lewis), Michael (Henshall), John (McCole), Sheila (Stevenson) - gather in a pub on the eve of her funeral. When Michael is stabbed in a fight with a local who mocks Thomas's maudlin sung tribute, it's the start of a long, dark night of the soul, as the siblings separately wander Glasgow trying to come to terms with feelings of grief, pride, rage and revenge: Thomas stubbornly staying in church with the coffin, disabled Sheila left to fend for herself after her wheelchair gets stuck, Michael delaying hospital treatment in order to profit by pretending his wound was caused by a work accident, and John going in search of a gun to kill his brother's attacker. Mullan's first feature as writer/director is a tough mix of searing drama and black comedy, an imaginative, sometimes surreal account of lives so afflicted by boozily confused, aggressive self-assertiveness that there seems little room left for mercy, hope or compassion.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Peter Mullan
Producer: Frances Higson
Cast: Douglas Henshall, Gary Lewis, Stephen McCole, Rosemarie Stevenson, Frank Gallagher, Alex Norton, Dave Anderson, Deirdre Davis full cast
Duration: 95 mins
Most popular on this site
Features
To the letter
Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.
Mind over matter
David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.
Fool's gold
Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.
We are the championed
Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."
A history of violence
Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.
True romantic
James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.
Playing in the dark
MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.
Junk bonds
Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.
What do you think?
Post your review now