Lorna's Silence

2008

Lorna's Silence

Critics Consensus

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

85%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 96

69%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 4,689
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Movie Info

An Albanian woman living in Belgium finds her dreams of opening a snack bar with her boyfriend leading to tragedy after she agrees to marry a Russian Mafioso in order to gain citizenship. All Lorna wanted was to start a small business with her loving boyfriend, but in order to make that happen she would first have to gain citizenship. Local mobster Fabio claims that he can make that happen if Lorna agrees to a sham marriage with a man named Claudy. After gaining Belgian citizenship, Lorna discovers that a high-profile Russian Mafioso is also seeking legal entry into Belgium, and soon. He's willing to pay a hearty sum in order to marry Lorna, but in order for that second marriage to be possible Fabio will have to have Claudy killed. Will Lorna be able to remain silent as Fabio's deadly plot unfolds, and what will become of her if Fabio finds out that she has warned Claudy of the impending danger he faces? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Cast

Arta Dobroshi
as Lorna
Jérémie Renier
as Claudy Moreau
Fabrizio Rongione
as Fabio
Alban Ukaj
as Sokol
Morgan Marinne
as Spirou
Olivier Gourmet
as inspector
Anton Yakovlev
as Andrei
Grigori Manoukov
as Kostia
Mireille Bailly
as Monique Sobel
Stephanie Gob
as mental health nurse
Laurent Caron
as detective
Baptiste Sornin
as morgue employee
Alexandre Trocky
as Doctor
Cédric Lenoir
as Male Bank Clerk
Cécile Boland
as Female Doctor
Serge Larivière
as Pharmacist
Philippe Jeusette
as Locksmith
Sophia Leboutte
as Claudy's Mother
François Sauveur
as Claudy's Brother
Christian Lusschentier
as ER Paramedic
Stéphane Marsin
as Drug Dealer
Laurence Cordonnier
as Female Bank Clerk
Anne Gérard
as Woman at the Burial
Annette Closset
as Obstetrician Nurse
Isabelle Dumont
as Dry Cleaner Owner
Patrizia Berti
as Policewoman
Léon Michaux
as Plainclothes Policeman
Alao Kasongo
as ER Receptionist
Claudy Delfosse
as Micky
Faruk Ahmed
as Phone House Cashier
Marie-Ange Pougin
as Dry Cleaner Employee
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News & Interviews for Lorna's Silence

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Critic Reviews for Lorna's Silence

All Critics (96) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (82) | Rotten (14)

  • A soul-crushing weight rests upon Lorna (Dobroshi), the Albanian-immigrant heroine of the Dardenne brothers' stunning proletarian character study.

    Nov 17, 2011 | Rating: 5/5

    Keith Uhlich

    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • Lorna's Silence doesn't work, but it's a beautiful misfire.

    Sep 3, 2009 | Rating: 2.5/4

    Rene Rodriguez

    Miami Herald
    Top Critic

  • As filmmakers, the Dardennes are more concerned with probing the causes of crime than in glamorizing it.

    Sep 3, 2009 | Rating: 3/4

    Calvin Wilson

    St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Top Critic

  • In casting the previously unknown Dobroshi, the brothers approach greatness with their lean portrait of simple humanity tested by desire and driven desperate by circumstances.

    Aug 28, 2009 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Peter Howell

    Toronto Star
    Top Critic

  • The story within Lorna's Silence is built on tiny increments of tantalizing details, meted out in penurious droplets and with chest-tightening tension that suggests that what the brothers wanted to be when they grew up were boa constrictors.

    Aug 28, 2009

    John Anderson

    Washington Post
    Top Critic

  • The Dardennes are masters of their brand of realist cinema. Over the years, the brothers' move from documentaries to narrative features has been handsomely rewarded.

    Aug 28, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/4

    Lisa Kennedy

    Denver Post
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (96)

Audience Reviews for Lorna's Silence

  • Sep 11, 2013
    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.
    Sam B Super Reviewer
  • Nov 07, 2010
    Seriously. Are some of my reviews vanishing? I can swear that I already talked about this one. I love everything that the Dardennes put together and this is no exception. Very strong performance from Arta Dobroshi here as a young woman who must do what she needs to do to survive. Gripping.
    John B Super Reviewer
  • Jan 11, 2010
    I haven't seen a movie quite like Lorna's Silence for a long time. I really do love these films that are just so pretentious, exadurated, and melodramatic, yet strangly plausible. For the most part the audience has to figure out what is going on for themselves. This really works well, especially since the plot is relatively simple. At the same time it is thoroughly engrossing to watch. I have no idea if the whole citizenship underground/espionage actually exists, but it is fasinating on-screen. Lorna's Silence does absolutely everything you would expect from a film of its prestige and style; and to top it off, its really rather good.
    Jake . Super Reviewer
  • Nov 27, 2009
    In Lorna's Silence, there is little of the convention. The fine-written screenplay says it all. The film is so dark with hidden emotions that are overwhelmingly revealed in the end. It is conscience over desire. It is an easy movie to watch for some reasons, the cinematography, the direction, and the screenplay. The blank face of Lorna gives us much more of the mystery of who she really is. But what we don't know, the woman is bursting with unending misery, leading us to a heartbreaking conclusion.
    quentin t Super Reviewer
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