On screen, where the impact of their actual physical presence is missing, the material is revealed as a series of contrivances. Finney, who does an excellent job of portraying Harold, the gangster, probably realizes this. He saw the play in Chicago, brought it to London and performed it triumphantly on the stage. Of course a movie had to be made of it, and he was happy to play his role again. But when I talked to him not long ago, he spoke of the play almost entirely in stage actor's words, in terms of the opportunities it gave him rather than in the statement it made.
That's the right approach. The theater works best when it places the audience in the same box of space and time as the actors and the material. Movies work best when they break out of the box, when they spring free from the physical constraints of space and time - even in such a simple matter as the way the camera's point of view is free to roam.
The problem of filming a play is as old as the cinema itself, and "Orphans" doesn't solve it - not that this play could be successfully filmed. Pakula and his actors do their best, but "out there" feels as much like "offstage" at the end as at the beginning. Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from until his death in In , he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. John Kellogg as Barney.
Anthony Heald as Man in Park. Matthew Modine as Treat. Kevin Anderson as Phillip. Albert Finney as Harold.
Reviews Orphans. Harold became this character who was in a dead end himself in Chicago. He was an orphan, so the three characters are all orphaned the metaphor of the play. I think people must feel that way within themselves—orphaned. Harold, Treat and Phillip bond in this kind of comedic and emotional way, and its triggered very strong reactions from audiences all over the world.
It touched a chord in people. It was only in Chicago where I rewrote the ending 20 times, that I realized I had boxed myself into a corner, and the only way out was the death of Harold. I must have been resisting the death unconsciously because I loved the character. But when that happened, I actually discovered the play.
It just boggles the mind. I feel very protective of my dead end kids. This is a funny production, very emotional and dark, but incredibly funny. I think that the humor is essential. It has to be funny, it has to touch people, and they have to be moved. I hope people will be deeply moved, deeply entertained, deeply joyful.
It celebrates the human spirit. The actors playing the three parts are extraordinary. Alec Baldwin is just amazing as Harold. Director Robert Berlinger has also cast and staged the play well. Loopholes in the plot? Many remain, but they seem to matter less. Two brothers are surviving alone in a dingy row house in North Philadelphia after their mother has died. Harold is an orphan who likes the Dead End Kids and who takes a shine to Treat because he behaves like one.
What he gets is entirely different. Call it an awakening. He has an almost mystical effect on them--disturbing to Treat, soothing and stimulating to Philip. Harold goes about the business of changing their lives. Plot is not the issue and a lot of questions could be asked and have been about its fine points. If Harold is hiding out, for instance, why will no one pay his ransom?
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