Editor’s Note: This was originally published for FANGORIA on September 8, 2005, and we’re proud to share it as part of The Gingold Files.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose proposes to showcase the conflict between religion and science (or more specifically, in this case, medicine), but there’s never any doubt as to what belief system the filmmakers subscribe to. Based on a real case that occurred in Germany in the 1970s, the film centers on a trial surrounding the death of a 19-year-old girl who succumbed to what the prosecution contends was a “psychotic-epileptic disorder,” but was interpreted by Father Richard Moore (Tom Wilkinson) as demonic possession. And despite the spirited courtroom debates that take up a good deal of the running time, the movie leaves the clear impression that the devil is indeed responsible—in part because the supernatural sequences are easily the most effective.
There’s a touch of irony in that, considering that the legal battle over Father Moore’s exorcism was evidently intended to separate this film from others on the subject of diabolic infestation. Yet as The Exorcist’s many sequels and imitators have ratcheted up their FX blowouts (see, or don’t, Exorcist: The Beginning), director Scott Derrickson, who scripted with Paul Harris Boardman, makes the wise choice to go more naturalistic. Not that the scenes of Emily’s affliction and purging are devoid of harrowing images, but the film eschews spinning heads and levitation and lets the performance do the work. And that performance, by Jennifer Carpenter, is a remarkable one, as she contorts her face and body in ways that make her pain seem very real, and will leave little doubt in any viewer’s mind that she is tormented by something other than a psychological condition.
If the jurors in Father Moore’s trial could have seen that footage, they would no doubt acquit him on the spot. Instead, it falls to lawyer Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) to convince them not to convict Moore of negligent homicide (he convinced Emily to forego her medication and put her life in his hands). Having proven herself in a highly publicized murder case, Erin nonetheless requires a promise of senior partnership before she’ll take on Father Moore’s defense. Certain that no one will buy his explanation of events, she encourages the priest to take a plea bargain, but he’ll have none of it, insisting that he wants to tell his story in court. As the trial continues, and Erin at first attempts to convince the jury that Father Moore’s belief in demons is enough to acquit him, she slowly overcomes her own agnosticism to consider the possibility of spiritual elements herself.
Here too, the movie stacks the deck a bit, confronting Erin with odd paranormal events that help nudge her into accepting Father Moore’s word as truth. Her crisis of faith is earnestly written and played, but somehow it’s not quite as compelling as it could have been, seeming cut-and-dried rather than heartfelt. Similarly, Father Moore’s religious convictions seem honest but underdeveloped; one gets the sense that there’s more to his character than the filmmakers are allowing us to see. Despite committed performances by both stars, these two central characters come to be defined by their roles in the courtroom/spiritual drama, instead of being fully fleshed out.
All this results in the movie having a sense of marking time between the lengthy flashbacks to Emily’s torment and the eventual exorcism. Thanks to Carpenter’s performance and Derrickson’s realistic approach, you feel more for Emily than for anyone else in the movie, and her suffering is genuinely painful to watch. You hope for her salvation even though you know of her ultimate fate, and while the director throws in a few generic ingredients at the climax (creepy-crawlies, terrified horses), the lengthy purging setpiece is successfully scary. It’s more effective than the conclusion of the courtroom drama, which has less of the whiff of real life than of the filmmakers trying to have things both ways.
Still, the trial scenes have their moments, thanks in part to a well-cast gallery of supporting players, including Campbell Scott as Ethan, the devout assistant DA handling the prosecution, and the wonderful Shohreh Aghdashloo as an occult expert. Her wise delivery of exposition about spells and possession is strong enough that one is hard-pressed to agree with Ethan when he objects to her testimony on the basis of “silliness.” Derrickson’s overall approach, in fact, coupled with strong craft contributions (particularly the evocative and chilly photography by Million Dollar Baby’s Tom Stern), makes it easy to take most everything that happens in Exorcism of Emily Rose seriously. But a sense that there really is reasonable doubt in this court case might have given the whole film the dramatic punch of its overtly horrific moments.
