Orphan



One of the few things on which pianist Kate Coleman (Vera Farmiga) agrees with her apathetic architect husband, John Coleman (Peter Saarsgard), is that a drastic change is needed to save their rocky marriage. With the burden of John's past infidelity, the emotional distance of their rebellious adolescent son, Daniel (Jimmy Bennett), and the helplessness of their deaf younger daughter, Max (Aryana Engineer), Kate's loss of her third baby in childbirth broke her sanity and drowned her in a sea of alcoholism.

In an attempt to find an alternative outlet of love meant for their stillborn child, the Colemans take in a mysterious 9-year-old Russian orphan called Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) into their family. Max, in her innocence, was ecstatic to finally have a big sister; Daniel was less than enthusiastic due to the bullying he receives at school due to her eccentricities.

Polite and creative, Esther initially had a sensitivity and charm that began to thaw the frozen hearts of the Coleman couple... and that's when people around them started getting hurt.

General Tropes

"Esther: (holding a box cutter between Danny's legs) If I find out that you're lying, I'll cut your hairless little prick off before you even figure out what it's for."
 * Adult Fear: Nonstop.
 * The Alcoholic / Drowning My Sorrows: Kate, formerly.
 * Asshole Victim: The bully who gets.
 * And possibly.
 * Ditto . Perhaps not an asshole in the traditional sense, but loses him a lot of sympathy.
 * Break the Cutie: Poor Max.
 * Bring My Brown Pants: Danny, when Esther threatens him with a box cutter.
 * Cassandra Truth: In spades. Kate knows Esther is a psychopath, but has no evidence.
 * Chekhov's Gun: Several.  and, of course,
 * Children Are Innocent: Max, so much that you'll want to hug her from her very first scene. The same cannot be said for anyone else.
 * Cute Mute: Adorable little Max.
 * Dysfunction Junction: On both the villainous and heroic sides.
 * Executive Meddling: In the original script, Danny was supposed to die and Esther's backstory was supposed to be better explained, making her more sympathetic and her actions of make more sense.
 * Extreme Melee Revenge: Esther attempts to . When he turns her down, she.
 * Groin Attack: Threatened, but not executed.
 * Dysfunction Junction: On both the villainous and heroic sides.
 * Executive Meddling: In the original script, Danny was supposed to die and Esther's backstory was supposed to be better explained, making her more sympathetic and her actions of make more sense.
 * Extreme Melee Revenge: Esther attempts to . When he turns her down, she.
 * Groin Attack: Threatened, but not executed.
 * Extreme Melee Revenge: Esther attempts to . When he turns her down, she.
 * Groin Attack: Threatened, but not executed.

"John: Let me get this straight: We can talk about my mistakes, but not yours? Kate: I was sick! You're an asshole who wanted to fuck somebody else!"
 * HSQ: High.
 * Idiot Ball: Having sex in a part of the house that's meant to be used by the entire family. As a result, they get caught by Esther.
 * To be fair, they did assume Esther was in bed at the time.
 * They still have three kids, not just Esther. Any of them could have woken up.
 * Improbable Aiming Skills: Subverted when
 * Infant Immortality: Although subverted in an earlier draft of the script in which Esther murders a 7-year-old girl the Colemans had been planning to adopt, and she is found hung in a closet.
 * Not to mention  was also supposed to die in the script.
 * Jerkass: The boys that Danny hangs out with. But Danny himself is a Jerkass Woobie.
 * Kick the Dog:
 * Esther reading excerpts from Kate's diary (regarding her miscarriage) out loud.
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch: On Esther's first day of school, a girl named Brenda makes fun of her. Later, Esther comes up behind Brenda and shoves her off the slide, breaking her ankle.
 * Kids Are Cruel: The girls who bully Esther at school, and Danny and his friends.
 * Mirror Scare: Both subverted and played straight. The first time Kate goes to the medicine cabinet, she closes the door to find nothing, the second time
 * Porn Stash: In Danny's treehouse. "Page 43 will change your life." "Hey, that looks like your mom!!"
 * Precision F-Strike: "I'm not your fucking mommy!"
 * Doubles as a Shout-Out to The Ring Two.
 * Primal Scene: But don't worry, Esther understands.
 * Real Life Writes the Plot: The movie was supposed to take place in the fall, but a record snow fall hitting the filming location during filming changed this to the winter, in turn eliminating a scene in the script at a Halloween carnival at Danny and Esther's school. Some might say the winter atmosphere helped make the movie more creepy.
 * Replacement Goldfish: A tale of this trope in action, gone horribly, horribly wrong.
 * Russian Roulette: "Want to play?"
 * Sickbed Slaying:
 * Soundtrack Dissonance: "The Glory of Love" plays over a disturbing, UV paint-splattered credits reel.
 * This! Is! SPARTA!:
 * Took a Level In Badass:  at the end.
 * Too Dumb to Live: Sure, the first few results of Esther's psychopathy could be chalked up to coincidence. But John still refuses to believe Kate after
 * Kate earns some of this for not thinking to call the cops sooner, especially as she is fairly quick to realize that there is something wrong with Esther. Why on earth would she even let her come to the hospital?
 * Kate comes off this way a lot, she doesn't handle her paranoia against Esther rationally and comes off whiny and demanding. Possibly justified a little due to her emotional instability.
 * Vanity Plate: Covered in glow paint.
 * Your Cheating Heart: Ten years before the film's events, John cheated on Kate, although he didn't tell her until many years later.

Tropes that concern Esther. Spoilers dead Ahead!!
 * Abusive Parents / Parental Incest: Forms part of her backstory, explaining why she is so screwed up, but this wasn't portrayed in the film (it was in the original script).
 * Affably Evil: She really can be quite charming when she chooses to be.
 * Age-Inappropriate Dress
 * Ax Crazy: And  crazy.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: Towards
 * Creepy Child:
 * Drop the Hammer: Uses a claw hammer to murder
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
 * Enfante Terrible:
 * Every Girl Is Creepier With Hair Decs
 * The Fake Cutie: Could be the poster girl for this trope.
 * Fille Fatale:
 * Girlish Pigtails: Several times.
 * Heartwarming Orphan: What the Colemans think she is at first...
 * Evil Orphan: What she really is.
 * Harmful to Minors:
 * Knife Nut
 * Lzherusskie:
 * Mad Artist
 * Manipulative Bitch
 * Murder the Hypotenuse: All of Esther's actions in this film have in mind the.
 * Precision F-Strike: "I know, they fuck."
 * Pyromaniac
 * Replacement Goldfish: The Coleman family really should have just gotten a puppy.
 * Room Full of Crazy:
 * Significant Birth Date: May be unintentional, but according to  she was born on April 20th, thus sharing a birthday with another murderous nutcase.
 * Stepford Smiler: Type C.
 * Troubling Unchildlike Behaviour: Casually using the word "fuck" in everyday conversation is the least worrying thing about this young lady.
 * A graver example: She tries to.
 * Villainous Breakdown: After failing to, Esther.
 * Wham! Line: "The little girl in that picture
 * Wise Beyond Their Years: Esther knows far more about sex than a 9-year-old should ever healthily know.
 * : During the finale.
 * Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Breaks her own arm in a freaking vise and frames her adoptive mother for it.
 * Yandere, combined with a not entirely healthy dose of Cute and Psycho.
 * Significant Birth Date: May be unintentional, but according to  she was born on April 20th, thus sharing a birthday with another murderous nutcase.
 * Stepford Smiler: Type C.
 * Troubling Unchildlike Behaviour: Casually using the word "fuck" in everyday conversation is the least worrying thing about this young lady.
 * A graver example: She tries to.
 * Villainous Breakdown: After failing to, Esther.
 * Wham! Line: "The little girl in that picture
 * Wise Beyond Their Years: Esther knows far more about sex than a 9-year-old should ever healthily know.
 * : During the finale.
 * Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Breaks her own arm in a freaking vise and frames her adoptive mother for it.
 * Yandere, combined with a not entirely healthy dose of Cute and Psycho.
 * Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Breaks her own arm in a freaking vise and frames her adoptive mother for it.
 * Yandere, combined with a not entirely healthy dose of Cute and Psycho.

That's the story of, that's the glory of love.