Hats off to Hollywood for telling a story that may seem incredible and difficult to believe, yet managing to create “reasonable doubt” in the mind of the viewer as to its implausibility and supernatural nature. The present movie and the 1970’s hit “The Exorcist” only have the term “Exorcist (ism)” in common. While The Exorcist was, and remains, a superb horror movie, arguably the best till date, this movie is based on a true story and frightens you only because it opens the realms of possibility, and EXTENDS reality as we know it.
PLOT-
“The Exorcism of Emily Rose” tells the story of a young, 19 year old girl, Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter), who dies a possibly unnatural death as a result of an exorcism performed on her by a priest Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson). The movie opens with a sequence where the medical examiner comes into the home of Emily Rose, observes Emily’s shell-shocked family, examines Emily’s body and arrives at the conclusion that Emily’s death is not due to natural causes. The priest, who is also present at the time, is arrested as possibly contributing to her death. The rest of the story unfolds in the courtroom, in the trial of Father Moore.
As the case involves a priest, the highly controversial practise of Exorcism, and the Catholic Church, the state appoints a highly competent and otherwise devout Prosecutor (Campbell Scott). The church likewise appoints a high profile lawyer Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) to defend Father Moore, in the hopes that she will convince him to accept a plea bargain, not extend the case and bring any untoward attention to the Catholic Church. Father Moore, on the other hand, does not have any intention of accepting a plea bargain, wants to speak in court, and wants to tell the story of Emily Rose to the court and the world.
The story that unfolds in court is that Emily started having problems when she leaves home for university, a couple of months prior to her death. She starts experiencing symptoms of “possession”, where she experiences her body being possessed by demonic forces, starts losing her appetite, starts seeing manifestations of demons and evil everywhere. The prosecutor makes a case for Emily suffering from a combination of a medical and psychiatric condition, as having Epilepsy and suffering from Psychoses (hallucinations and delusions) and therefore imagining she is possessed. Even though Emily initially seeks medical treatment and takes medication, it doesn’t seem to help her and she eventually returns to her home, where her family also supports her in seeking the help of their priest to exorcise her. Emily decides to stop taking her medication eventually, and the priest SUPPORTS her decision…and therein lies the crux of the prosecutor’s case….had Emily continued taking the medication and not been encouraged by the priest to find a spiritual cure to her affliction, she would still be alive.
Although the defense lawyer, Erin Bruner, does not herself believe in demons, evil, and even doubts the existence of God, over time she starts listening to what her client is telling her and experiences evidence of demonic existence herself. The family of Emily Rose testify in favour of Father Moore, and in favour of possession. Against her initial wishes and her interests, Erin Bruner does allow her client Father Moore to testify in court and tell his story.
Does the jury believe the prosecutor and his rational explanation of the “possession” and find Father Moore guilty of indirectly causing Emily’s death, or does the jury believe that Emily Rose’s death had nothing to do with man-made negligence or harmful intent? I’ll leave you to watch the movie and find out for yourself. I’ll warn you though, that the answer to that question is not simple.
REVIEW-
A great story, fantastic casting, and edge of the seat direction and camera work, make this a very compelling movie. Laura Linney is one of the finest actresses in Hollywood today, and she proves it in this movie. It’s not her best work, but she plays a difficult role of an agnostic, rational lawyer who starts doubting what she knows, superbly. Tom Wilkinson, after his Oscar nominated stint in “In the Bedroom”, is once again at his best as the incredibly believable priest. Campbell Scott is great and the girl who plays Emily Rose truly does look haunted, although I must say she kinda looked weird even before she was possessed!
The true hero of the movie though, is the story. This movie does not make you believe in the supernatural and the existence of demons overnight. But it does make you doubt that EVERYTHING can be rationally explained, and that perhaps mankind does not have all the answers as yet. It wasn’t that long ago that what we know today as mental illness was ONLY seen as demonic possession, and inhuman methods were used (and still are being used around the world) to “drive” the spirit away. I’ve worked with people with mental illness, and I know that it is very real and very treatable by scientific means. But does that reality cancel the fact that demonic possession can also coexist as a distinct and separate identity? If given a choice, we MUST consider the rational explanation first, but can we also accept that there is a whole world, or a reality, out there that we know nothing about?