''Orphans'' is a 1987 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Alan J. Pakula Alan Jay Pakula (; April 7, 1928 – November 19, 1998) was an American film director, writer and producer. He was nominated for three Academy Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture for ''To Kill a Mockingbird (film), To Kill a Moc ...

. Written by

Lyle Kessler Lyle Kessler is an American playwright, screenwriter and actor, best known internationally for his 1983 play '' Orphans''. Career Actor Born in Philadelphia, Kessler began his career as an actor. His first professional appearance was in the Ph ...

, based on his 1983 play of the same name, the film follows two orphaned brothers (

Matthew Modine Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker, who rose to prominence through his role as U.S. Marine Private/Sergeant J.T. "Joker" Davis in ''Full Metal Jacket''. His other film roles include the title character ...

and Kevin Anderson) as they navigate life on their own.

Plot

Treat (

) and Phillip ( Kevin Anderson) are two brothers living alone in a rundown row house in Newark, New Jersey. Treat, the elder, is a violent pickpocket who spends the day robbing people in order to provide for himself and Phillip. Meanwhile, at home, Phillip tries to educate himself via words in magazines and watching TV. Treat kidnaps a mysterious man from a bar, with a briefcase full of stocks and bonds. Known as Harold ( Albert Finney), he turns the tables on his abductor and begins to assimilate himself into the brothers' lives, turning Treat into a gentleman and giving Phillip the encouragement he needs. But there are people who have picked up on Harold's disappearance. As Harold helps Phillip overcome his agoraphobia (Treat has him under the influence that he will die upon contact with the outside world), tensions begin to run high in the household. One night, after an argument between the brothers, Harold returns and is revealed to have been fatally wounded. He dies on the couch, with Phillip by his side. Treat breaks down in tears, and Phillip comforts him.

Cast

* Albert Finney as Harold *

as Treat * Kevin Anderson as Phillip * John Kellogg as Barney *

Anthony Heald Philip Anthony Mair Heald (born August 25, 1944) is an American character actor known for portraying Hannibal Lecter's jailer, Dr. Frederick Chilton, in '' The Silence of the Lambs'' and '' Red Dragon'', and for playing assistant principal Sco ...

as Man in park *

Novella Nelson Novella Christine Nelson (December 17, 1939 – August 31, 2017) was an American actress and singer. She established her career as a singer, both on the off-Broadway and Broadway stage and in cabaret-style locales. Career Starting in 1961, Nels ...

as Mattie * Elizabeth Parrish as Rich woman * B. Constance Barry as Woman in crosswalk * Frank Ferrara as Cab driver * Clifford Fearl as Doorman

Critical reception

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' enjoyed the film: Roger Ebert of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' gave it two and a half stars out of four and had this to say:

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Orphans 1987 films 1987 drama films American drama films 1980s English-language films Films about orphans American films based on plays Films shot in New York City Films directed by Alan J. Pakula Films scored by Michael Small 1980s American films