A priest is on trial, but the devil may be guilty
The ongoing debate about the place of religion in a society founded
on secular law is given a new twist in “The Exorcism of Emily Rose.”
This is a surprisingly good movie with an interesting story line
and some pretty decent scares.
The core questions of this movie are whether the existence of the
devil is something that can be proven or disproven, and whether a
secular society should be debating spiritual issues in a court of
law.
A priest, Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson), is charged with
manslaughter in the death of a young woman named Emily Rose (Jennifer
Carpenter). The coroner’s office says her death was the result of
criminal negligence during an exorcism Moore performed. Moore and
Emily’s family say her death was caused by demonic possession.
While sitting in jail awaiting trial, Moore refuses to accept a
plea bargain. He wants the devil to have his day in court.
In a lot of ways, this movie feels like an episode of “Law and
Order: Special Exorcism Unit.” The prosecutor, Ethan Thomas (Campbell
Scott), is a devout Christian who argues that Emily’s condition was a
combination of epilepsy and mental illness. The defense attorney,
Erin Bruner (Laura Linney), is an agnostic whose client wants to
testify that Emily was possessed by demons and that we all need to be
spiritually on guard.
As the trial progresses, strange things begin to happen to Erin,
and she begins to wonder whether what Moore is saying could be true.
Are there dark forces in play, or is it all just a series of creepy
coincidences?
The best part of this movie is that it pretty much leaves it up to
you to come to your own verdict.
It wouldn’t be a scary movie if the scale wasn’t tipped toward
making you believe in demons, but you’re still allowed to draw your
own conclusions about what happened to Emily Rose.
The story is more of a supernatural thriller than a horror flick.
If you come to the theater expecting pea soup a la Linda Blair,
you’ll be disappointed.
It’s also a PG movie, and for the most part, there’s a tight rein
on the language.
This film’s soundtrack is eerie and unnerving and ranks right up
there with the music Stanley Kubrick used in “The Shining.” My only
complaint is that sometimes the scary music is overused.
Horror movies have a bad habit of using music to tell us when
something is supposed to be scary, just as sitcoms use canned
laughter to tell us when something is supposed to be funny.
When Moore wakes up in the middle of the night feeling unnerved
and decides to investigate, we don’t need the creepy music to tell us
to be afraid.
The movie’s plot is very loosely based on the true story of a
young woman named Anneliese Michel who died during an exorcism in
Germany in the early 1970s.
Her family and her priest were charged in her death. At trial, the
defense was allowed to play audiotapes of the exorcisms as evidence
she was truly possessed.
In retrospect, that Michel was mentally ill seems painfully
obvious. During her exorcisms, some of the demons inside her
identified themselves as Cain, Nero, Judas, Lucifer and Hitler --
sort of a who’s who in Christian hell.
All of this brings up an issue that’s very troubling in the “The
Exorcism of Emily Rose.” During Moore’s trial, one of the expert
witnesses called by the defense states a medication Emily was taking
was negatively affecting the spiritual part of her brain and
preventing her exorcism from being successful.
The only way for the exorcism to work was for her to quit taking
her medication.
Who wrote this part of the script? Tom Cruise?
In a world where people still believe in fortunetellers and still
argue that superstition is as valid as science, the last thing we
need is for people to start believing that taking medicine allows
demons to possess you.
Setting that big issue aside, I really liked “The Exorcism of
Emily Rose.” It’s a well-told story with interesting characters.
It vaguely reminded me of “Audrey Rose,” a Marsha Mason and
Anthony Hopkins movie from 1977, in which the existence of
reincarnation is debated in a court of law.
“Emily Rose” will make a good rental on a night when you’re
looking for something that’s a little scary and asks you to think a
little.
* JIM ERWIN, 40, is a technical writer and computer trainer.
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