Orphans (1997)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Peter Mullan

Writer:

Peter Mullan (writer)

Release Date:

21 April 1999 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Are YOUR parents a burden?

Plot:

Four siblings gathered together for their mother's funeral in Glasgow face individual torments over night during a tumultuous storm that rips the roof off the church.

Plot Keywords:

Funeral | Church | Brother | Family Relationships | Death

Awards:

10 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Douglas Henshall	...	Michael
Gary Lewis	...	Thomas
Rosemarie Stevenson	...	Sheila
Stephen McCole	...	John
Ann Swan	...	Mother of Family
Gilbert Martin	...	Frank
Jan Wilson	...	Sandra (Woman in Bar)
Lenny Mullan	...	Julian (Bar Manager)
Malcolm Shields	...	Duncan
June Brogan	...	Mona
Paul Doonan	...	Lenny (Duncan's brother)
Linda Cuthbert	...	Evelyn (Waitress in Bar)
Lex Keith	...	Himself
Hugh Ferris	...	Himself
Joel Strachan	...	Neil (Lad in Toilet)
Tam White	...	Alistair (Taxi Driver)
Vanya Eadie	...	Maria (Receptionist at Evettes)
Dorothy Jane Stewart	...	Margaret
Michael Mallon	...	Rab (Cheeky Boy in Street)
Alan Gracie	...	James (Cheeky Boy in Street)
Jim Twaddale	...	Liam (Bus Driver)
Frank Gallagher	...	Tanga
Eric Barlow	...	Mr. Bell
Frances Carrigan	...	Mrs. Bell
Judith A. Williams	...	Amanda (Baby-sitter)
Michael Sharpe	...	David (Michael's Son)
Laura O'Donnell	...	Carole
Lee-Ann McCran	...	Anne Marie (Paper-girl)
Debbie Welsh	...	Melissa (Paper-girl)
Donna Chalmer	...	Bernadette (Paper-girl)
Sarah Hepburn	...	Louise (Carole's Sister)
Deirdre Davis	...	Alison (Carole's Mum)
Sheila Donald	...	Mrs. Finch
Martha Leishman	...	Alice
Catherine Connell	...	Angela (Michael's Daughter)
John Comerford	...	Ed (Carole's Dad)
Stephen Docherty	...	Alastair (Barman in Pub)
Alex Norton	...	Hanson
Louise Dunn	...	Moira (Woman Collecting)
Luke Coulter	...	Paper Boy (In Pub)
Laurie Ventry	...	Henry (In Basement)
Maureen Carr	...	Minnie (In Basement)
Steven Singleton	...	Seamus (In Basement)
Kate Brailsford	...	Deaf Boy's Mum
Luka Kennedy	...	Fraser (Deaf Boy)
Helen Devon	...	Jessica (Woman in Tube)
Josie Aitken Sheridan	...	Duncan's Baby
Seamus Ball	...	Father Fitzgerald
Dave Anderson	...	Uncle Ian
Robert W. Carr	...	Mr. Leitch (Undertaker) (as Robert Carr)
Jenny Swan	...	Aunt Geraldine
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mary Wells	...	PC McGiffen (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Mullan

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Peter Mullan		writer

Produced by
Frances Higson	....	producer
Paddy Higson	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Craig Armstrong

Cinematography by
Grant Cameron

Film Editing by
Colin Monie

Casting by
Doreen Jones

Production Design by
Campbell Gordon

Art Direction by
Frances Connell

Costume Design by
Lynn Aitken

Makeup Department
Claire Davies	....	makeup assistant
Sara Kramer	....	makeup assistant
Anastasia Shirley	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Miara Martell	....	production manager (as Martell)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mark Goddard	....	first assistant director
Guy Heeley	....	second assistant director
Ted Mitchell	....	assistant director: second unit
Michael Queen	....	third assistant director (as Mike Queen)

Art Department
Paul Curren	....	painter
Jim Davers	....	dressing props
Caroline Grebbell	....	art department assistant
Cliona Harkin	....	assistant art director
Christopher Higson	....	stand-by carpenter (as Chris Higson)
Mike Ireland	....	prop buyer
Scott Keery	....	stand-by props
William Maxwell	....	stand-by stagehand
Alan Reid	....	storyboard artist
David Reilly	....	prop master
Alex Robertson	....	carpenter
Tony Sheridan	....	stand-by props
Danny Sumsion	....	construction manager
Billy Wilson	....	stand-by rigger

Sound Department
Peter Brill	....	sound recordist
Felicity Cottrell	....	foley artist
John Fitzgerald	....	assistant dubbing mixer
Pat Hayes	....	dubbing mixer
Lorraine Keiller	....	dialogue editor
Bronek Korda	....	additional adr artist
Alastair Mason	....	sound trainee
Peter Murphy	....	boom operator
Mike Prestwood Smith	....	adr mixer
Mike Prestwood Smith	....	adr recordist
Lionel Selwyn	....	foley artist
Ted Swanscott	....	foley recordist
Hilary Wyatt	....	supervising dubbing editor

Special Effects by
Stuart Brisdon	....	special effects supervisor
Nik Cooper	....	special effects operator (as Nick Cooper)
Mark Haddenham	....	special effects operator
Colin Tilley	....	special effects operator
Mike Tilley	....	special effects operator

Visual Effects by
Steve Corduroy	....	model construction
Cliff Culley	....	matte artist
Neil Culley	....	model camera operator
Richard Dimbleby	....	optical printer operator (as Dick Dimbleby)
Roy Field	....	visual effects

Stunts
Danielle da Costa	....	stunts
Nrinder Dhudwar	....	stunts
Steve Griffin	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Ray Nicholas	....	stunts
Nick Powell	....	stunt coordinator
Stuart Stark	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Nick Wilkinson	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
John Adamson	....	electrician
Stuart Bunting	....	grip
Chris Burns	....	focus puller: second unit
Eddie Burt	....	grip
Fraser Campbell	....	electrician
Oliver Cheesman	....	camera operator: second unit
Kathy Friend	....	focus puller: second unit
Joe Gormley	....	camera trainee
Paul McGeachan	....	best boy
Kirstin McMahon	....	clapper loader
Alan McSheehy	....	focus puller: second unit
Mark Ritchie	....	gaffer
Jonathan Sykes	....	focus puller
Francis Todd	....	focus puller
John Ward	....	Steadicam operator
Alan Wylie	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Lenny Mullan	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Margie Fortune	....	wardrobe supervisor
Carole Miller	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Giles Burgess	....	third assistant editor
David Gibson	....	first assistant editor
Lorraine Keiller	....	second assistant editor
Sylvia Wheeler	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Sarah Dolan	....	music assistant
Sandy Dworniak	....	music supervisor
Paul Hulme	....	music engineer
Richard T. Norris	....	music programmer
Roger Pollen	....	orchestra contractor

Other crew
Gillian Berrie	....	production coordinator
John Booth	....	location manager
Neil Cairns	....	trainee accountant
Louise Coulter	....	production accountant
Emma Davie	....	assistant to the company
Robert Etherson	....	location assistant
Michael Higson	....	location assistant
John McKain	....	assistant accountant
Mark Murdock	....	floor runner
Emma Olver	....	stand-in
Jessica Rundle	....	production assistant
Bernard Shepherd	....	armorer
Paul Shirley	....	stand-in
Janis Watt	....	script supervisor
Shirley Whiteside	....	unit publicist

Production Companies

• Antoinine Green Bridge
• British Screen Productions
• Channel Four Films
• National Lottery
• Scottish Arts Council, The
• The Glasgow Film Fund

Distributors

• Pretty Pictures (France)
• Shooting Gallery (2000) (USA)
• There's Enterprise (Japan)

Other Companies

• Ardmore Sound  sound re-recording
• Brill Sound  sound equipment
• De Lane Lea Sound Centre  foley recorded at (as De Lane Lea)
• GSE  opticals
• Grip House North  grip equipment
• Lee Lighting  lighting equipment
• Rank Film Laboratories  film lab
• Reelworks  sound design
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• The Scottish BT Ensemble  orchestra

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | New Zealand:R18 | Iceland:16 | France:-12 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK

Company:

Antoinine Green Bridge

Soundtrack:

The Air That I Breath

their mummy's dead...

When I checked this film on IMDB, I was surprised. Not by the popular rating, 6.7 out 10 is a good mark but by the number of votes. Only, 368 votes! How can such a good movie by largely ignored by the public?

Peter Mullan in the world of British cinema is especially known as an actor. We remember his performance in the trendy "Trainspotting" (1996) where he acted the role of a heroin supplier. With "Orphans", he decided to display his gifts as a director. He chose wisely. His real debut movie is, by any standards a remarkable one. However I am obliged to recognize that for his first direction, the place of the action which the city of Glasgow in Scotland has nothing welcoming. Indeed, most of its inhabitants are narrow-minded or unpleasant. I read a few reviews about Mullan's film and all of them had said that Glasgow's inhabitants are really like this. If it is true, truth is stranger than fiction.

But also Mullan for his first directing chose a tough topic: what can be the childrens' reactions following the death of their mother? To answer this question, the filmmaker divided his movie in 4 individual parts. Each one focuses on one of the 4 main characters. Thus, we can say the following answer to the quoted question: either with violence (John, the college boy who tries to prove himself as a hard man) either with obstinacy (Thomas, the holier-than-thou chief mourner who wants everything to be perfect for their mother's funeral). As for the two others, Michael and Sheila, they feel especially lost. What Mullan tries to reveal to the spectator is that these reactions are necessary because this painful hardship represents for them the definitive transition in adulthood and maturity. The very last sequence shows the three brothers and the disabled sister together and they seem more united.

"Orphans" is a movie that swings between humor and poignancy, violence and calm with ease. Moreover, the moment when the roof of the church is torn off by the wind gives the film a little surrealist air. In short, it easily ranks among the best British movies of the nineties and it deserves to be better known. At last, given the success of "the Magdalene sisters" in 2003, Peter Mullan is well away to become one of the finest British directors of these last years.