Orphans 1987

     This film is based on a play.  Treat and Philip are orphans who have lived alone together since they were kids.  They live in a large crumbling house set apart from other homes in the area.  Treat robs people for valuables and sells them to a fence to provide food for them.  Philip has a lot of problems and Treat has added to his problems by convincing him he will get lost or suffer allergic reactions if he leaves the house.  He really just wants Philip always to be there when he comes home.  Treat meets a man who is well dressed, he seems wealthy and Treat follows him to a bar.  After the man is sufficiently drunk, Treat takes him to their house.  His plan is to find out what he has in his briefcase and to take the money and valuables from him.  When Treat finds negotiable bonds in the briefcase, he decides to hold Harold for ransom instead.  Maybe they can get a million or two dollars and they will be set for a long time.  Everything turns out unexpectedly when no one wants to pay a ransom for Harold and he offers to hire the brothers as his bodyguard and assistant.

     Harold has a soft spot for the brothers because he grew up in an orphanage as a child.  He works with Treat to get him to be able to contain his volatile temper.  He works with Philip to show him he can go out of the house, he won’t have a bad reaction and he won’t get lost with a map.  3* (This movie is OK)

115 min, Drama directed by Alan J. Pakula with Albert Finney, Matthew Modine, Kevin Anderson, John Kellogg, Anthony Heald, Novella Nelson, Elizabeth Parrish, B. Constance Barry, Frank Ferrara, Clifford Fearl.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 67% critic 76% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 ½*.