ORPHAN ANALYSIS

Orphan is a horror/ thriller movie directed by Jaume Collet-Serra that was released in 2009. The film shows how the life of Kate and John’s small family had been changed after they decided to adopt a nine-years-old girl named Esther. Due to being devastated by the loss of their unborn baby, the couples went to an orphanage to adopt a new daughter with the hope that she can ease their pain. However, the film went to a climax when a dangerous series of events happen after the attending of Esther and Kate - the wife starts to build a suspect.

9 Frame Analysis

Frame 1:

Frame 1 starts with the opening of the title ‘Orphan’ with a basic word font and black background to emphasize the film’s name. Unlike many movies, this film immediately begins with the introduction of the name which makes us feel a sense of difference and freshness. Following the concept of a psychological thriller movie, the black background indicates darkness and danger hidden behind those upcoming stories.

Frame 2:

This wide shot continues to underline the name ‘Orphan’ which creates a unique titling way since they even have two layouts for the name. This indicates that behind those ordinary lives, there are some hidden secrets that are being covered by the characters. The scratches that appear connotes the violence and abuse that may happen within the film since bruises are the result of cruelty and oppression. Besides that even though the word is in blue and purple, we can realize that the dropped water is the connotation of blood - representative of death, spiritual spirit.

Frame 3:

This frame is filmed as a medium shot that shows the presence of a married couple who is entering the hospital. Their facial expression indicates a sense of nervousness but also happiness like they prepare to receive great news. Besides that, I noticed that this may be a memory since the background has a yellow kind of exposure that raises a feeling of nostalgia and old. This is being strengthened by the fact that the background begins with being blurry like the characters are reminiscing the old memories.

Frame 4:

This long shot frame had answered our previous question through the speech that the husband just said “My wife’s in labor”. This shows that the reason their faces seem anxious and happy is because they are about to welcome the birth of their daughter. However, through the color tone of the background, I feel a sense of omen that something bad will happen. This implies that something unfortunate may occur to their little child. As the overall color tone is black and white, this may be the sign that hint to the audience that a bad event is about to happen as the birth of a child should be welcomed with vivid color.

Frame 5:

Next, a medium shot had been used to show the relationship between the couple. Through the speech that the man said, we can see that he is a beloved, responsible husband who always said lovely things to his wife like ‘hon’. This indicates that they have a close-knit relationship and there is no distance between them since they’re both committed to each other.

Frame 6:

The film is still being made in the form of a medium shot where the setting is set in the hospital and Kate’s in labor. She’s in the pain of labor which reveals that she’s going to give birth soon. However, the fact that she’s experiencing the pain by herself shows that maybe along the film, she might be the one who faces and experiences the most with those dangerous events. Her husband can be beside her whenever she needs but can’t really help to lessen the pain she is enduring.

Frame 7:

As previously I had said, Kate has to endure the pain by herself as the pain of labor will be unstable therefore it can occur at any time. The pain being spontaneous may also underline that the events will also occur as a random way because of a distinct person.

Frame 8:

The fact that John always supports Kate on any occasion shows us his huge love for his wife which indicates no matter what happens he will be a person that Kate can trust and rely on. John may not take the role of a villain as it had proved through his behaviors and actions toward Kate and maybe there might be something that interrupted the peace in their marriage.

Frame 9:

Contrast to the first frame, in the final frame, the love between Kate and John questions the title ‘Orphan’ when it means a person who doesn’t fully receive love from the parents. It implies that Kate and John may adopt a new child from the orphanage since they are the type of parents who can fulfill the amount of love that their child will need. However, this point out that after these 9 frames, they may lose the little child that will be born soon which means the orphan connotes to a child that they adopt to help them be less miserable after the shock