Orphans, the forgotten comedy-drama starring Shetland's Douglas Henshall, is now streaming for free in the UK.
The 1998 film, which is written and directed by Peter Mullan, sees Henshall portray Michael Flynn, a figure who reconnects with his sister and two brothers in Glasgow following the death of their mother.
"Through their mourning, the three egocentric brothers create chaos for themselves and their fragile sister, who finds herself alone amongst her family as they all explore the limits of sin and forgiveness," reads the logline.
Featuring Gary Lewis and Stephen McCole in supporting roles, the comedy-drama is now available to stream in the UK on Channel 4's streaming service, with the film being added after it aired on Film4 in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Though not widely reviewed upon its release, Orphans has been a moderate hit with viewers, with the film currently possessing a creditable user rating of 7.0 out of 10 on IMDb from 1900 reviews.
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"The entire film has been brilliantly directed… The entire cast and music are nice. Actually, I like [Rosemarie] Stevenson's acting as Sheila. She is brilliant. Congratulations [to] Mullan [for] directing such a brilliant drama!" said one user.
"A truly fantastic combination of drama and comedy, done in a subversive way which forces us to re-evaluate what we thought of a scene just seconds before, Orphans is a fantastic exploration of the closeness of drama and comedy," added another viewer.
"What starts out as a simple film about four siblings trying to cope with their mother's death, soon becomes a surreal tour-de-force," wrote one other viewer, who dubbed it "one of the great British [films] of the last few decades".
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Despite the positive reviews on IMDb, critical reception for the film was far more mixed, with Rotten Tomatoes currently reporting an approval rating of 47% from 19 reviews. The audience score, however, is markedly higher, standing at 78%.
While Orphans was one of Henshall's early projects, the actor would go on to have a major role in BBC crime drama Shetland, with the star appearing as DI Jimmy Pérez in the first seven seasons.
Orphans is streaming now on Channel 4.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
