The Exorcism Of Emily Rose -A DVD Review-

Yeah, okay I realize I'm not exactly on the forefront of film reviews if I keep doing DVDs, but a lot of people like myself haven't seen many of the films in theatre so I'm trying to wade through what's worth seeing.

As for Emily...

The Exorcism Of Emily Rose is not a bad film. Rottentomatoes.com gives it a surprising 44% based on 149 reviews. Not bad. Plus my guy Roger Ebert gaves it his patented 'Thumbs Up'! Wa-wa-wee-wow!

I liked it. It gave me the creeps and worked almost like a textbook version of a supernatural thriller "based on a true story". Aside from the performances of Laura Linney (always fantastic!) and Tom Wilkinson (Oscar's workhorse) the whole affair was fun and engaging at the time but ultimately forgettable.

First, some perspective; any film, especially one based on supernatural events, LOVEs to tag it "based on a true story". In this case the word "based"'s meaning is looser than the underpants of someone, possibly a woman, who has recently had liposuction surgery but has not yet bought new underpants. It's pretty loose!

I'll include a link to the Wikipedia entry here, but basically a young, devout German girl named Anneliese Michel with psychiatric disturbances decided that her depression was a result of demonic possession and asked to be exorcised by a priest. That priest, in concert with her parents performed said ritual and later the girl died, the official autopsy declaring "malnutrition and dehydration" after almost an entire year of starvation due to the exorcism.

Now, to The Exorcism Of you-know-who...

Emily Rose's story is told in courtroom flashbacks, as the trial of the priest alleged to be responsible for negligence in her death is on trial. We are given various medical reasons for her death by the state prosecution, and the defense, sponsored by the archdiocese, is flailing to offer a succesful albeit conservative defense. They fear revelations about the use of exorcisms in this day and age would be an embarrassment. Gee, really?

The defense attorney, Erin Bruner, played by the incredible Laura Linney, is mired in her own problems as her flagship case won just months earlier in defense of a murderer has been shown to be a sham. He has killed again upon his release. Uh-oh! And a partnership at her firm is riding on this win! All she has to do is win the case without putting the priest on the stand. Simple enough, right? Of course all he wants is to tell Emily's story on the stand, so immersed is he in his belief system.

An interesting trial ensues though mired in minor plot-holes that any trained lawyer would've driven through with a Mack truck. However the tension was maintained at just the right level to let those minor imperfections pass almost unnoticed.

Some superficial questions were asked; do you believe in the spiritual realm? Even if you don't, do you believe someone else might so passionately that it could lead to their death? Does that passionate belief validate the argument for the spiritual?

All is well and good, but at the end of the day The Exorcism Of Emily Rose was a very good attempt at a fascinating story. I'd recommend seeing it for the hell of it, like if you can't find anything else at the video store (I hate when that happens!). Otherwise, see the obvious first choice, The Exorcist. Even if you've seen it before. Otherwise see this. It isn't horrible, it just isn't great.

P.S. I read that a more faithful version of Anneliese Michel's story was told in the German Requiem. I have not seen it. Yet. It is currently available on amazon.com as is The Exorcism Of Emily Rose.