Orphans and Angels

Why is it that every guy with a digital camera thinks that he is some kind of "auteur"? Give me a break...this was a poorly executed film that suffered by an even poorer idea for a story - namely, it wasn't particularly original. Besides the hackneyed acting and the distracting "mood" music, the film sports a series of rather stomach-turning "love" scenes. They're the kind of scenes that make the sex in some of the more flakier HBO dramas seem inspired. It doesn't help that the plot is painfully transparent - nothing to keep you on the edge of your seat or guessing what happens next. The story is simple: Girl meets boy, girl falls in love, boy pushes drugs on girl, girl gets hooked, girl's life falls apart. Pretty much ripped from your average TV-movie-of-the-week. Throw in some cringe-worthy dialogue and some pretentious emoting from the two leads and you're in for an hour and a half of some very dry sub-par Kiwi soap - the kind that you might find on the really "up there" channels, between the weather news and the test signal stations. Inexplicably, one of the leads (Christopher Brown) won the Best Actor prize at a New Zealand film fest for this movie. I think that says more about New Zealand film festivals than it does about the thespian skills of Mr. Brown...

The needy and traumatized Theresa (Emmeline Hawthorne), who was raped when she was fourteen year-old, meets the handsome John (Christopher Brown) on the street after an accident during a performance on the stage of her friend Kim (Cal Wilson) asking for a low-budget hotel. She offers a ride to a nearby hostel, they date and she brings him home, where he offers Ecstasy with wine to her. Kim advises her that John is a dangerous drug-dealer that has been missing for five years after the death of his girlfriend also called Theresa, but Theresa stays with him, practicing mutual masturbation, sharing her fears and fantasies and being permanently drugged. When John's friend Billy (Aaron Ward) visits Theresa, he reveals dark secrets about her boyfriend, leading to a tragic end.

"Orphans and Angels" is a surprisingly good low-budget movie. The weird and erotic story about drugs, love and murders is developed through great performances, stylish cinematography and suitable music score. If the viewer sees this movie with lower expectations, like I did, he or she may be surprised by a very reasonable work. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Anjos e Demônios" ("Angels and Demons")

"A stylish debut by filmmaker Harold Brodie, Orphans and Angels takes the classic film noir genre and gives contemporary relevance in urban New Zealand, as the scarred protagonist and ruthless villain execute their dangerous dance. Erotically charged and cleverly developed characterizations with a interesting plot that unravels slowly but keep us guessing. Solid performance from Emmeline Hawthorne as Theresa and Christopher Brown as the conflicted manipulator Cal Wilson is quiet good as Theresa's best friend, a lesbian who can quickly see through people. The music adds a wonderful mood to the film I must say, complementing the excellent production design"