Studio Cut

Vera Farmiga is an award-winning actress who continues to captivate audiences with each role she embodies, as exemplified in such acclaimed films as “The Departed,” “Joshua” and “Breaking and Entering.”  Now, she delivers another bravura performance as Kate, a wife and mother and recovering alcoholic who recently endured a stillbirth, in Warner Bros.’ terrifying suspense thriller “Orphan.”

In the film, the tragic loss of their unborn child has devastated Kate (Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard), taking a toll on both their marriage and Kate’s fragile psyche as she is plagued by nightmares and haunted by demons from her past. Struggling to regain some semblance of normalcy in their lives, the couple decides to adopt another child.

At the local orphanage, both John and Kate find themselves strangely drawn to a young girl named Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman). Almost as soon as they welcome Esther into their home, however, an alarming series of events begins to unfold, leading Kate to believe that there’s something wrong with Esther–this seemingly angelic little girl is not what she appears to be.

“`Orphan’ puts a new spin on the genre,” says Farmiga.  “It’s not just bloodletting; it’s horrifying events happening to real people with real problems.

“Kate has a gaping hole in her womb and in her heart,” Farmiga says of her character, “but she’s trying to persevere and to heal her marriage and her family.  Her choice to adopt is an act of kindness.  She needs to do something with all the love that she had in her heart for that child…to give it to somebody in need.  Adoption is a way to heal and draw her family closer together again.”

But no matter how far they’ve come in the healing process, her husband can’t help but blame her and she can’t truly forgive herself.  The guilt and the lack of trust have driven a wedge between Kate and John, which is made much deeper by the arrival of Esther, who exploits Kate’s failings and John’s doubts.

“Kate has been on a difficult journey,” notes producer Joel Silver.  “She lost a child in childbirth.  She’s an alcoholic, and she almost lost another one of her children because of it.  She’s tortured.  But she’s really tried to clean up her life and she’s ready to move on, when she brings this little girl into her life, and that sends her back into a tailspin.”

“Vera was perfect for this role,” observes producer Susan Downey.  “She added all those layers to Kate so that you really feel that she has a history, that she’s got demons that she’s dealing with from her own past.”

Farmiga says she researched her part by “spending time on grief websites, reading stories about women coping after the loss of a baby.  It’s no small feat to put back the pieces of a broken heart after experiencing the agony of miscarriage.  The ache is desperate, that of an empty womb and empty arms.  These testimonies were eye-opening.”

Opening across the Philippines on July 29, “Orphan” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Entertainment Company.