"That's a nice-a donut."
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
The Exorcism of Emily Rose, from director Scott Derrickson, involved one of the more misleading marketing campaigns in recent memory. The trailer, commercials, and other advertisements - even the DVD menus - focused on trying to portray an eerie terror. It's not hard to understand; after all 1973's The Exorcist is often regarded as one of the scarier movies in film history. However, though there are scenes of dread and fright, much of the movie involves a legal case. Yes, it is a courtroom drama.
Purported to be "based on a true story," the movie opens on a dark, windy morning at a large foursquare home in the South. A man slowly and anxiously makes his way up to the house, and we soon learn that he is a medical examiner and he is there to inspect the body of a young woman who has just died. Apparently she had underdone an exorcism by her priest, Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson), and it didn't work. Moore is charged with negligent homicide and, after some hand-wringing, Erin Bruner (Laura Linney), a defense attorney with her eyes set on being named a partner at her law firm, takes the case on behalf of the Catholic Church. Through a series of episodic flashbacks, we learn details of the story about Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter). But facing off against Erin is Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott), a smooth talking assistant DA with his eyes obviously set on hirer office. While Ethan tries to paint Father Moore as a man who did something bad and that Emily could have been treated by medically, Erin tries to convince the court that was possessed Father Moore acted in good faith.
Though the fate of Father Moore, and perhaps the memory of Emily, rests on the decision by the jury, the real focus in the movie is ultimately on Erin and her search for inward truth. Not only does she have to do deal with a previous case in which she successfully defended another man for murder (and who subsequently went on to kill again), but she also struggles with her beliefs (she doesn't know; she's an agnostic). And she must deal with "possibilities," as Father Moore calls it, the chance that maybe demons really are real. Father Moore is apparently rather prescient, and warns her that she could be under attack by strange forces and second of all, the demons are definitely real. As usual, Linney is very good in her role. Her story is marred a little bit though by a running side-plot about Erin and a superior in her law firm; it is boring and completely unnecessary to the story.
Ironically, despite the marketing campaigns attempts to disguise this, I think the perspective of looking back at an exorcism from a legal perspective is a very interesting concept and, well, at least more appealing from my point of view than yet another stale thriller, or being a retread of The Exorcist. The courtroom scenes are rather straightforward and to the point, and appropriately the issue is vaguely enough that people can make up their own minds. Unfortunately, the filmmakers try too hard to have it both ways - as a law drama and as a thriller. It loses focus, and seems to be unsure what it is really trying to be. Frankly, some of Emily's flashbacks end up being rather unintentionally funny at times. But Carpenter does her best and gives a good turn, with many contortions and strange sounds, noises, and even foreign languages. It's far from perfect, but worth a look.
The Verdict: C.
Michael Bentley 10:34 AM
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