"Exorcism of Emily
Rose "
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Laura Linney.
Tom Wilkinson. Drama/Thriller.
Synopsis: A
Catholic priest is on trial for the death of a 19 year-old college
student whom he believes was possessed by a demon.
Review: This
is a PG-13 movie about an exorcism – what more do I need to
write?
Really, this film played more like a courtroom drama than a horror
film. It was like a two-hour episode of Law & Order: Demonic
Intent or Law & Order: Special Possession Unit (one of which
is rumored to be in pre-production for the spring 2006 television
season).
Emily Rose (Jennifer
Carpenter) is a 19 year-old college student who is also a devout
Catholic. She has an ‘encounter’ after which the doctors
at the university clinic diagnose her as epileptic. When the situation
worsens, her family removes her from school and seeks the guidance
of the family’s priest.
The priest, Father Richard
Moore (Wilkinson), suggests that Emily cease filling her prescription
for Gambutrol. He seeks the permission of the Church to conduct
an exorcism. Once granted, he begins the process one rainy Halloween
evening, but things go horribly wrong and Emily dies just days later.
Erin Bruner (Linney)
is the attorney hired by the archdiocese to defend Father Moore.
She is a non-believer on a recent hot streak.
Ethan Thomas (Campbell
Scott) is the district attorney prosecuting the case. Being a devout
Protestant, he is convinced that the ‘possession’ was
a form of psychosis brought on by the epilepsy and the cessation
of Emily’s prescription.
The acting is first class,
as one might expect from this ensemble. But the marketing behind
the movie was flawed – what was presented as a suspenseful
horror film was really a drama. The legal aspects consumed nearly
two-thirds of the film, leaving only 1/3 for the exorcism, which
is told in fragments via flashback sequences and testimony.
The demon that possesses
Emily Rose (if you believe she was, in fact, possessed, and not
suffering from epileptic seizures and psychosis) suffers from a
staggering lack of imagination and creativity. Certainly the demon
could have conjured up more material than just speaking in six foreign
languages. There were no personal attacks of any kind. Linda Blair
would be ashamed.
Wait for Netflix or wait
for the film to appear on the much anticipated Law & Order /
CSI channel that should be arriving on cable any day now.
OVERALL
GRADE: B-
Scenes
from the Movie:
"The
Exorcism of Emily Rose"
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