The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Written by Paul Harris Boardman & Scott Derrickson
Directed by Scott Derrickson
Screen Gems
2005
Rating:


"The Exorcism of Emily Rose" could have been the greatest "Law & Order: SVU"-"The X-Files" crossover that never happened, but as a full-length feature, Scott Derrickson's film is nothing more than a stale collection of possession cliches that's only minorly subversive, rehashed for an audience that gives credence to the theory of intelligent design.

Loosely based on the true story of a supposedly possessed German teenager in the 1970s, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" isn't so much interested in the actual exorcism as it is in the trial that follows. Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) is charged with negligent homicide when Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter) dies sometime after her exorcism, and agnostic, hot-shot attorney Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) is sent in by the archdiocese to defend him against Assistant District Attorney and Methodist choirboy Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott). As Erin digs into the case, she, too, finds herself pursued by the devil, as proven by the fact that she awakes at 3 A.M. (apparently the witching hour), clocks stop, doors bang loudly and cats hiss.

The various "Law & Orders" and their imitators have turned big-screen courtroom dramas into a redundancy, and despite the fact that God is being put on trial, turning a possession movie into a trial-by-jury drama is a major misstep, not least of all because, by the end, it doesn't make sense why Father Moore is being prosecuted in the first place. More offensively, the courtroom framing device presumes that the martyrdom of Father Moore and the spiritual awakening of Erin is more important than the martyrdom and oppressed sexual awakening of Emily.

For the reasons behind Emily's possession, whether it's real or not, are far more compelling than the trial that results. Emily leaves her small farm town for a big city university, seemingly against her parent's wishes, and, after falling in love, is overcome by the devil or develops a form of epileptic psychosis, depending on which train of thought the viewer follows. What's really on hand here is the "Rosemary's Baby" version of "Repulsion," with Emily's realization that she can be invaded through an orifice with inner workings she doesn't understand. This gives way to the guilt that her upbringing has imposed upon her, causing, either through God or a psychotic break, the symptoms of possession. The religious mania that arguably leads to her death includes Emily being locked in her room and being taken off medication to be more spiritually open.

None of this would be appalling if, like "The Exorcist," it took its faith seriously or even if it operated on the standard possession syllogism whereby a man becomes emotionally open through a woman's bodily openness. "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" has no grander intentions than to make a horror movie for "The Passion of the Christ" crowd, and on that count, it succeeds.

Posted Monday, September 19, 2005

Link to this review:
http://filmzeus.pressbin.com/film/exorcism.of.emily.rose