Review of The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) by Van R — 29 Aug 2010

Any movie that uses the word 'exorcism' in its title invites inevitable comparison with director William Friedkin's nightmarish nail-biter "The Exorcist" (1973) starring Linda Blair as the demon-possessed daughter and Ellen Burstyn as her frantic mother. Aside from its heroine bedeviled by Lucifer and its sympathetic Catholic priest hero, the new courtroom drama & horror epic "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" shares little in common with one of the scariest sagas of the 20th century. Anybody yearning for hair-raising yikes in "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" should be prepared to be extremely disappointed. Writer & director Scott Derrickson and co-scribe Paul Harris Boardman, who collaborated on the enjoyable straight-to-video sequel "Hellraiser 5: Inferno" (2000) with Craig Sheffer, waste too much time in the well-lit courtroom scenes but not enough in the dimly lit exorcism scenes. Indeed, Derrickson stages most of the action outside the courtroom in dark, sinister places, but nothing leaps out to rattle your senses. Of course, Derrickson relies on standard horror movies clichés like doors slamming suddenly or furniture behaving as if it had a mind of its own to the accompaniment of composer Christopher Young's atmospheric but overwrought musical score. Ace lenser Tom Stern provides " Emily Rose" with some suitably creepy imagery, but his visually arresting photography and Young's forceful music cannot salvage this dignified but dull potboiler. Good Catholics may find the message of "Emily Rose" reassuring, and the Catholic Church doesn't take the beating here that it took in "The Exorcist." Nevertheless, thrill-seekers who swear by blood, gore and more will leave feeling cheated and betrayed by its "Emily Rose's" shortage of scary scenes and its off-beat, anti-climactic ending.

"The Exorcism of "Emily Rose" opens after the fact. Emily (Jennifer Carpenter of "White Chicks") lays dead, and the authorities have charged Father Moore (Oscar winning British actor Tom Wilkinson of "The Patriot") with her death. Not only does Father Moore reject a plea bargain with the District Attorney for a six year prison sentence instead of a twelve year stretch, but also he demands repeatedly to tell Emily's story. The D.A. assigns Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott of "Dying Young") to prosecute. They want Thomas not only because he is a hard-hitting prosecutor but also he is a devout Methodist. Meanwhile, top-notch attorney Erin Bruner (Laura Linney of "Mystic River"), who has earned a reputation by representing Johnny Cochrane style clients, makes a deal with her stuffy boss Karl Gunderson (Colm Feore of "Pearl Harbor") to handle Moore's defense on one condition. Erin wants in as a partner in his law firm if she wins the case. In an obvious effort to contrast Erin with her distinguished, grey-haired, icy-voiced courtroom opponent, the filmmakers have made Erin an agnostic who gulps martinis, curls up late at night with thick legal tomes, and prefers to sleep single in a double bed. Gunderson accepts Erin's demands. However, he warns her that the local archdiocese, which is footing the bill for the priest's defense, doesn't want Moore to testify. These Catholic Church leaders fear that Moore's eyewitness testimony will expose them to ridicule. Dramatically, Moore refuses to remain silent. Once "Emily Rose" introduces us to its gallery of characters, the movie sinks to the most basic level. Everything we learn comes from the lowest common denominator Q & A session that the jury, as well as we, must suffer through in this long-winded, 114-minute hokum. Occasionally, we see a spark of lifeâ??or perhaps horrorâ??when the film plunges us into eerie flashbacks. The ads for "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" say that the movie is 'based on a true story.' Just to give you an idea how drastically Hollywood has altered the facts, consider these changes. First, the heroine was originally a German lass named Anneliese Michel, not an American college freshman called Emily Rose. Second, this disastrous exorcism took place nearly thirty years ago in 1976. Incidentally, a fact that the filmmakers ignore is that this event constituted the last official exorcism that the Catholic Church sanctioned. Third, not only was the priest who performed the exorcism put on trial, but also the priest that assisted him as well as the girl's parents found themselves in court facing charges of negligent manslaughter. In the Hollywood version, neither Emily Rose's family nor the attending physician were arrested and charged with her Emily's demise.

While Hollywood is notorious for s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g the truth, the people who made "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" appear to have taken a lot of liberties with the subject matter. When director Scott Derrickson and co-scribe Paul Harris Boardman aren't taking liberties with the facts, they seem determined to bore the Hades out of us with a lot of loquacious courtroom chatter. Imagine what "The Exorcist" might have been like had Perry Mason shown up instead of Father Merrin, and you'll have a good idea what happens. "Emily Rose" shuns sensationalism and undermines its own suspense. We know from the outset that the title character is kaput, and nothing that anybody can do will resurrect her. Moreover, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" dredges up the age-old faith versus facts argument between religious believers and non-believers. Religious convictions derive their power from spiritual faith, not scientific facts. Nevertheless, Derrickson and Boardman advocate the idea that mankind has grown too narrow-minded and negative about spiritual beliefs and wrong-headed when it relies on science alone to account for life's inexplicable episodes. Sadly, the verdict that the jury delivers supports science more than theology. The demons that occupy Emily Rose would make the demons in "Ghostbusters" howl with glee. During the trial, Erin faith in agnosticism takes a beating, and she finds herself changing teams before it's over. "Van Helsing" make-up artist Keith Vanderlaan seems to rely entirely on mascara to create the demons that haunt our heroine. Ultimately, despite its well-meaning objectives and a fine, first-rate cast, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" ranks as a trial that's a tribulation to watch.