AUSTIN, Texas – Ry Russo-Young’s latest film, “Orphans,” lacks one fundamental element: substance.
The film focuses on two estranged, twentysomething year-old sisters, Rosie (Lily Wheelwright) and Sonia (James Katharine Flynn), who reunite five years after the death of their parents for Sonia’s non-existent birthday party.
Both sisters have led separate lives throughout the years but have shared a common thread of self-destruction.
Rosie spends her time abusing alcohol and pills, while Sonia abuses alcohol and shows signs of bulimia, problems they both blame on the death of their parents.
Sonia has a hidden agenda for inviting her sister out to see her and it depends on how she feels at the time. She either wants Rosie to live with her and get better, provide her with a crutch of support or give her the attention she longs for.
Rosie is aware Sonia is dependent on her and abuses this dependency by blaming Sonia for her troubles as an adult. Sonia does the same thing leaving neither sister willing to accept the burden of responsibility for their actions.
Russo-Young sets the pace for a dark drama filled with uncertainty, lies and secrets. Unfortunately, the problems begin almost immediately.
The audience is thrown into a disjointed lull of a story that leaves little-to-no room to build an emotional connection with Rosie or Sonia.
It’s interesting to see the inner turmoil of the sisters’ lives collide with each other in the spirited film, even if it’s hard to remain invested in the film or the characters.
Wheelwright and Flynn seem overwhelmed in their roles as sisters, relying too much on the dialogue to demonstrate their feelings toward each other. Russo-Young’s script failed to answer lingering questions about the sisters’ past and present states.
The lingering dependence among the sisters was hard to understand given the emotional void of the performances. Russo-Young’s clever directing rescued the film.
“Orphans,” which won the Special Jury Award for Director at SXSW, leaves the audience feeling much like orphans.
Gerrick Lewis can be reached at [email protected].
