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Lorna's Silence

R Released Jul 31, 2009 1h 45m Drama List
85% Tomatometer 97 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Lorna (Arta Dobroshi), a young Albanian woman living in Belgium, has hopes of opening a cafe with her boyfriend, an itinerant worker who visits when he can. She marries Claudy, a local junkie, to secure legal residency and collaborates with Fabio (Fabrizio Rongione), a low-life cab driver who arranges a hefty payoff for her to marry a Russian mobster. Lorna wants to divorce Claudy; but Fabio wants him to overdose. She knows nothing of the threatening underworld in which she will be enmeshed.
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Lorna's Silence

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Critics Consensus

Subtle and emotionally bleak, this gripping thriller features the Dardenne brothers' recognizable penchant for realism and very strong performances.

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Critics Reviews

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Keith Uhlich Time Out A soul-crushing weight rests upon Lorna (Dobroshi), the Albanian-immigrant heroine of the Dardenne brothers' stunning proletarian character study. Rated: 5/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle Lorna's Silence echoes long after the movie ends. Rated: 3/5 Sep 11, 2009 Full Review Calvin Wilson St. Louis Post-Dispatch As filmmakers, the Dardennes are more concerned with probing the causes of crime than in glamorizing it. Rated: 3/4 Sep 3, 2009 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site The filmmakers tend to confuse flatness with realism. For the most part, the characters are unappealing and the brothers treat them coldly. Feb 13, 2021 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com The Dardenne's are unafraid to show the darkness of humanity. Rated: 3.5/4.0 Sep 14, 2020 Full Review Dan DiNicola The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY) In a Hollywood thriller, we might encounter a conniving wife in league with a vicious gang of con men. Here, the Dardenne brothers, Jean-Pierre and Luc, contrive a richer scenario. Jan 23, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Arta Dobroshi is exceptional as the lead in the Dardenne brothers' 'Lorna's Silence'. Her performance carries the film as she is in every scene in some part. As usual in a Dardenne film, physical display, particularly facial expression, say as much as any of the dialogue. For Dobroshi's part, there's little of that dialogue that communicates as well as her eyes as the title keeper of secrets. Her gaze in this film shifts from the static affect of one denying access to looks of concern, compassion and finally determination. Dobroshi's skilled acting more than makes up for shortcomings in the screenplay. We find out that Lorna is Albanian immigrant attempting to scam her way into Belgian citizenship. She has married a Belgian named Claudy played by Jérémie Renier, offering him cash for residency. They will divorce shortly later, according to the plan. As arranged by a gangster named Fabio (Fabrizio Rongione), Lorna is supposed to then marry a Russian man who will use her newly acquired citizenship to achieve his own Belgium citizenry. Lorna will then divorce the Russian and marry her true love, boyfriend Sokol (Alban Ukaj), with whom she has dreams of owning and operating their own snack bar. This sketchy plan that works in theory, but impatience and other issues complicate the scheme. Fabio decides that snuffing out Claudy would be faster than divorce for Lorna, and thus the money from the Russian. Besides, who's gonna miss junkie, right? Lorna's expressions tell us this is not going to be that easy as Claudy has become more than a mere patsy to her. She warms up to him, but it's really his desperation and innocence that reaches her. Claudy is just a pay day to Fabio and his henchmen. Lorna realizes that's likely her ultimate her fate as well. What she does next is fueled as much by a determination not to be silenced as it is from guilt. But her head is a mess of desperation to keep her head above water, guilt for Claudy, and her conviction that she is now pregnant with his child. Not one of the Dardennes' best films, but 'Lorna's Silence' is a success as much or more due to Dobroshi's stellar acting as the story line or directing. 3.4 stars Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review nilufer e Lorna didn't seem all that silent if you ask me. I found this movie quite convincing and well acted however it was too slow for my taste and it didn't really give a moral I think. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Slow-paced but effective drama of the harsh luck of immigrants Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member une leçon de cinéma, techniquement incroyable (caméra à l'épaule exceptionnelle !) Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Debroshi anchors a film that is somber and slowly-paced . Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member A cold, bleak Belgian film that gives equal importance both to what is not seen and heard and what is. "Lorna's Silence" is a rigid character study by the Dardenne brothers that will be challenging to many. The goal here was seemingly to reflect on the power of absence and silence, and while this focus makes it feel weightless and even pointless at times, these are intentional design choices that offer up food for thought with varying degrees of success. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Lorna (Arta Dobroshi), a young Albanian woman living in Belgium, has hopes of opening a cafe with her boyfriend, an itinerant worker who visits when he can. She marries Claudy, a local junkie, to secure legal residency and collaborates with Fabio (Fabrizio Rongione), a low-life cab driver who arranges a hefty payoff for her to marry a Russian mobster. Lorna wants to divorce Claudy; but Fabio wants him to overdose. She knows nothing of the threatening underworld in which she will be enmeshed.
Director
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Producer
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Denis Freyd, Olivier Bronckart
Screenwriter
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
Arte, RTBF, Les Films du Fleuve, Lucky Red, WDR, Archipel 35, arte France Cinéma
Rating
R (Language|Brief Sexuality|Nudity)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Albanian
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 31, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$337.7K
Runtime
1h 45m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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