The lively thriller directed by Jaume Collet-Serra "Childof Darkness ”(actors: Isabelle Furman, Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Jimmy Bennett) describes the intriguing story of a Russian orphan who terrorizes a couple that adopted her, once again proving that the proven Hitchcock techniques still work fine.
Political correctness is paramount
This sonorous name of the film "Child of Darkness"is obliged to dubbing, accompanying the picture, in the original the name sounds much simpler and more serene - “Orphan”. In it, the viewer will not hear a word about the Russians, as the local distributors were worried about the fate of this creation in Russia. And in Estonia, most likely, they will also not hear that dear Esther was undergoing a course of therapy in their mental hospital.
Plot
It looks like a prosperous married couple,having lost the child, decides to adopt the Russian orphan Ester staying in the orphanage. They are not embarrassed that the girl wears, without removing, vintage dresses and strange jewelery - black velvet ribbons on her wrists and neck. The fact that the baby, for her age, perfectly plays Tchaikovsky's musical compositions on the piano did not arouse any special suspicion. After all, the child is kept emphasized modestly and decorum, her look is standard. The youngest daughter, a six-year-old deaf-and-dumb Max, is immediately absorbed in favor of her new sister. But the eldest child, Daniel, on the contrary, throws hysterics to parents demanding the return of their adopted daughter to the orphanage, which is explained by the couple as he enters rebellious puberty.
Further events occurring in the film starter"Child of Darkness", the actors who took part in the shooting, called the main intrigue. At the beginning of his stay in the foster family, Esther just smiles and blinks innocently, but after ... He will take the cobblestone and finish off the bird shot by Daniel with pleasure and professionalism. That will push a teased classmate from a roller coaster, then her parents will be pitched between themselves ... And this is only the first demonstration of her potential for truly devilish cunning, ingenuity and cruelty. Such a character presents the film The Child of Darkness to the viewer.
Actors and roles
The plot description presented above givesunderstand that the wild nature of Esther and the fear of the new sister of other children are not all manifestations of the subtext in the picture. Acting performance of any and all manifestations, according to critics and the audience, can be considered as implemented at 100%. The actors of the film "Child of Darkness" imbued with the atmosphere of the project and proved their worth in the acting field. The annoying exception is Peter Sarsgaard, who played the role of the father of the family too sluggishly and restrained, as if he did not understand the director’s idea and the meaning of everything that is happening. The rest of the cast are great.
Especially impressive character - deaf-mute Maxperformed by Ariana Engener and, without a doubt, Esther with a mysterious face Isabelle Furman. These two were the leaders of the antagonists, not the invented confrontation with Vera Farmig, who was not invented by screenwriters David Johnson and Alex Mace. Of course, it is noticeable that in the film “The Child of Darkness” the actors and roles were chosen intently and efficiently. But if the creators chose another scenario, for example, as in “The Good Son,” that is, they focused on the confrontation of children, the effect of watching a movie would be much deeper. Vera Farmiga, Karel Roden (a doctor from the hospital) and HCH Pounder (a shelter's sister of mercy) coped well with the incarnation of their characters. The actors and the roles of the film “The Child of Darkness” will long stir up the minds of filmmakers and spectators.
Scary without paranormal
It would not be superfluous to clarify:In this film, the viewer will not deal with another manifestation of supernatural forces. “Child of Darkness” (the actors who played the main roles are listed above) is a thriller in the best traditions of the genre, at the level of the reference “Hands swinging a cradle”. Diligently building up the web of psychology on the plot about the cuckoo, gradually cleverly destroying the nest in which the debutant found himself - screenwriter David Johnson - just barely overdid it. What confirmed one simple truth: in the thriller the main thing is not the psychology of the action, the main thing is speed, which was proved by the brilliant Hitchcock long ago. And the director Jaume Collet-Serra managed to overcome the annoying and annoying looseness of his debut creation The House of Wax figures of 2004 and this thriller set a really effective one. The director preferred to whip up horror, pushing aside visual beauty. Only the culmination moment of the action flourished with violent paints of the psychopathic thought of the author.
Similar
In terms of voltage and cameraness, the picture is in somedegree resembles the film "Joshua", which also played Vera Farmiga and also a foster mother, only a little tomboy intended to bring her to the mental hospital with her spouse. Looking at the design of the poster (the image of the main character), one can involuntarily draw a parallel with the films “Case No. 39”, “Yulenka”. Although its culmination and individual details, the film is still closer to “Poison Ivy”, “Hobby”, “Fatal Attraction” and other demonic stories about young children.
From love to hate ...
В целом «Дитя тьмы» (актеры которого после выхода the pictures were at the epicenter of universal attention) is another variation of the well-known saying, stating that love and hate are separated by just one step. No matter how much someone loves anyone, but if the object of his feelings begins to threaten the lives of dear people or the entire world order, then he breaks off any contact with him or in especially dangerous cases ceases to exist. But you shouldn’t go deep into philosophical reasoning, just watch a movie and don’t get too scared. In our life there are things much worse than a fierce little girl from Russia.
