Father Moore: Emily, can you hear me?
Emily Rose: [in Latin] I am the one who dwells within.
Father Moore: And I am the one who comes in His name.
Emily Rose: You think you can force me out, priest?
Emily Rose: Try.
Emily Rose: I dare you.
[Emily twitches robotically and falls to the ground]
THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE is probably a cinematic first since it is both a horror movie and a courtroom drama, all based on a famous true story. Okay, the degree of the truth is in the eye of the beholder, but real-life Emily Rose's grave is a shrine to those who believe that a demonic possession did occur and resulted in the death of this college age young woman. Rose is played athletically by newcomer Jennifer Carpenter, who manages to contort her body into extremely strange shapes when she is possessed.
This jury of one almost came in with a hung jury for the movie itself. I'm not a horror movie fan, and, although THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE did provide all of the standard scary movie tricks of frightening images and sudden loud noises, I was never scared and never even jumped once. Still, as a representative of the genre, it was okay, albeit not especially surprising.
What won my vote were the extensive trial sequences, as Ethan Thomas, a said-to-be religious prosecutor, tries Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson), a priest who conducted the exorcism on Emily. She was said to have been possessed by a full half dozen demons simultaneously. Campbell Scott gives one of his weaker performances as the prosecutor, but that is more that made up for by a splendid piece of acting by Oscar nominee Laura Linney (KINSEY and YOU CAN COUNT ON ME) who plays Erin Bruner, the agnostic and ambitious lawyer who is hired by the Archdiocese to defend the priest. The Archdiocese wants her to convince Father Moore to accept the very generous settlement offer of 12 months in jail with the expectation that he would get off in just 6 months for good behavior. Father Moore firmly and unequivocally declines the offer since he wants more than anything to "tell Emily's story."
In this film, which sometimes feels like a pilot for "Law & Order: Exorcism Unit," the movie continually suffers from predictability. When one witness shows up out of the blue to testify, the entire audience knows what comes next. And, when Erin finds out that the demons, who are starting to come after her too, punch in every night at 3 a.m. sharp, you know exactly what she will now do with her bedside digital alarm clock she has been so fond of staring at nightly. The movie does have a nice small, ending twist.
My non-director's cut of the film would eliminate almost all of the explicitly scary stuff. I'd make it strictly a courtroom drama and would try to frighten people by talking about the horrors rather than showing them. But the teenagers and the young adults who buy most of the tickets for movies like this would stay away in droves from my version. It's probably a good thing that I don't run a studio.
THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE runs 1:54. It is rated PG-13 for "thematic material, including intense/frightening sequences and disturbing images" and would be acceptable for teenagers who can handle scary movies.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, September 9, 2005. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
By : Steve Rhodes (http://www.internetreviews.com/)
Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup
Rating: 2
QUOTE: "Many will dismiss it as hokum dressed up by Hollywood, but isn't the debating the most fun aspect with films like this?"
Touted as such by its director, Scott Derrickson, The Exorcism of Emily Rose may in fact be the first courtroom horror film. The TV spots and trailers would not lead you to believe that, however, as all we see is a horrified Emily Rose contorting her body and experiencing visions of ordinary people melting into demons. Put away those pretenses that the film is a balls-to-the-wall exercise in demonic terror. It is a courtroom picture with demonic flashbacks, but a solid one at that. Derrickson's experiment pays off in terms of intrigue and intensity.
As is the case with many films that are "based on a true story," we have some name changing going on here. The Exorcism of Emily Rose is actually based upon the story of Anneliese Michel, a Bavarian girl born in 1952. She led a happy childhood in a religious family, but at the age of sixteen she began to experience what her parents believed to be demon attacks. Her body would contort, she would shake violently, and even reported seeing demons in her everyday life. She was diagnosed with Grand Mal epilepsy and given prescription drugs. Nothing helped, however, and the family soon called upon Pastor Ernst Alt, who truly believed Anneliese was in grave danger because of the demons, to perform an exorcism on Anneliese. After an unsuccessful attempt, Father Arnold Renz was assigned by Bishop Josef Stangl to try with the assistance of Alt. Anneliese would eventually have two exorcisms performed per week and actually become even more violent. She refused to eat, exclaiming that the demons would not let her. On July 30, 1976, Anneliese collapsed and passed on. Both priests and Anneliese's parents were charged with negligent homicide.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose tackles both sides of this debate in the courtroom with flashbacks to Emily's (Carpenter) descent into madness in place to really keep your attention. Erin Brunner (Linney) is a hotshot attorney on her way up the ladder after winning a high profile murder case. She is approached about representing Father Moore (Wilkinson), the priest present during Emily Rose's final moments during her final exorcism. The debate: Was Emily epileptic, psychotic and simply in need of good medication? Or was she inhabited by demonic spirits who eventually tortured her soul enough to kill her?
Derrickson and fellow screenwriter Paul Harris Boardman take a straightforward, almost Unsolved Mysteries-style approach to the material. The bulk of the film takes place in the courtroom as we hear various experts testify to what they believe happened to Emily. In bone-chilling flashbacks we get a glimpse of things from Emily's point of view and there is a harrowing exorcism sequence that serves as the climax of the film. This is thoroughly unsettling material whether you believe in demons or not.
The performances are all very good. Laura Linney exudes confidence as Brunner, but she may be experiencing some paranormal activity herself. Tom Wilkinson, one of the finest actors working today, turns in a tight, focused performance as Father Moore. His role is pivotal to the film's success because if he were to misstep in portraying the central character in such a dividing film, we could be looking at a mess of a final product. Jennifer Carpenter is appropriately petrified virtually every minute she is onscreen. From the very first time we see her onscreen we can tell something is not quite right. Do we have a new scream queen in the making?
With a story that one can't help but think about and more than a few discomforting sequences, The Exorcism of Emily Rose is an easy recommendation if you're in the mood for a few spooks and something to talk about around the water cooler the next day at work. Many will dismiss it as hokum dressed up by Hollywood, but isn't the debating the most fun aspect with films like this?
By : Bill Clark (http://www.fromthebalcony.com/reviews/2005/05_exorcismofemilyrosebc.htm)
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