In brief, I'm recommending the film because it is a great discussion starter, has solid performances and is a well-paced if somewhat predictable story.
The trailer makes the movie out to be in the horror film genre. However, with a PG-13 rating, you know they won't go too far.
The premise of the film is that Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) is placed on trial for the negligent homicide of Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter). Rose was receiving medical treatment for epilepsy but wasn't responding. With the agreement of the family, Rose and the Catholic church, Father Moore attempts an exorcism to relieve Rose's condition. Erin Bruenner (Laura Linney) is assigned to defend him.
The film is mostly a court-room drama with flashbacks to the terrifying deteriorating condition of Emily Rose. In those scenes and in a few others, the conventions of horror/suspense film-making takes over. So you can be assured if you a looking for a few good frights, you'll get them. I must say, I don't think I'll ever look at the digital clock late at night quite the same!
In the court room drama, the prosecutor (selected by the DA because he is a church goer) presents the evidence that Emily Rose was probably suffering from mental illnesses that were treatable and the discontinuance of that treatment in favor of the exorcism led to her death. The defense attorney (a self-professed agnostic) counters that some of Rose's symptoms went beyond the usual mental illness categories. She also called to the witness stand an academic expert on the role of spiritual experiences upon physiology and brain function.
As the story unfolded, I'm sure some people who were expecting more of a slasher/horror movie might have felt it wasn't scary enough. For them, the film is just the audio-visual equivalent of a roller-coaster ride and they will miss the significance of the questions the film raises. The film-makers did reach into the well of that horror-suspense-psychological thriller style but with restraint to retain a PG-13 rating and thus a potentially wider audience.
Some in the audience will try to be dispassionate and be like the jurors of the film weighing the arguments.
Some will be already convinced of the reality of such things as demon possession like the priest played by Wilkinson and will be hearted by the character's steadfastness and honesty.
And still some others will be drawn to Linney's portrayal of the skeptical defense attorney forced to re-examine her beliefs and her own life choices as the trial unfolds.
The story line does take a somewhat predictable trajectory. However, I wonder if the horror genre has ever been blended with a courtroom drama before? Director-screenwriter Scott Derrickson has effectively used the conventions of both styles and has drawn out strong performances from Linney and Wilkinson.
As for theology, we have to remember, films are not works of theology. Movies tend to paint in broad strokes and raise questions. And indeed, because at the beginning and the end of the film, they make a big point of stressing that the film was based on true life events, I will be curious to see if news features will be produced to recount the true story the film is based on. And I suppose when the DVD of the film comes, it would contain bonus features where some of the back-story will be provided.
From my brief web searching, I found this item from a Canadian online movie page. I also found this this German web page about Anneliese Michel. Alas, I do not read German. A search of Amazon.com shows there was a book with the title, The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel.
I think people who see the film will have lots to talk about afterward. In the closing argument by Linney, she raises various points to the jury and these would be questions moviegoers can discuss and reflect on.
I don't want to spoil the movie but another question I pondered was the role of suffering in Christian faith. The film offers a very "Catholic" answer. As a Protestant Christian, I don't know if I buy that answer. This tension is something that left me unsettled as I left the film.
I have not read much on evil spiritual forces from a Christian perspective. I have read these two books: Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis and Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson.
Anderson's books and works are controversial.
Between the two books, my views are that spiritual forces do in fact operate in the world and that their mode of operation are mostly in the realm described in the Screwtape Letters: deception and temptation.
Deception is thinking something is true when it isn't.
Temptation is trying to meet a proper need by the wrong means.
If evil spiritual forces do exist then they will want to accomplish their goal (turning people away from God and goodness) without making themselves known to the very people they are deceiving and tempting.
Discussions about how evil is propagated in these subtle ways would also be fruitful after watching a film like this.
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Disclosure: I saw this film as a guest of Grace Hill Media.
3 comments:
I see, so if evil forces operate openly and obviously (as countless stories from the past claim they do) then it's clear they exist. And if things are such that evil forces don't seem to exist, that just means they're operating secretly to fool people. You can't lose, can you? Perhaps it's time to question your assumptions. (Or do you think I'm one of those evil forces sent to fool you?)
Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
The first question one might ask is the foundational one: does evil actually exist or not?
In the debate about world views not all accept there is actually good and evil.
A second question one may ask is: are there forces beyond the material-physical operating in the world?
A person who holds to a naturalistic world view would not believe that such entities exist. A theist would.
The third question would then be, if non-material evil forces do exist, then how would they operate? What tactics would they employ?
In the conduct of physical war, there are overt and covert tactics. If spiritual wars exist, then there may well be a mix of tactics employed there as well?
On TV I saw the real photos of her when she was possesed, have you seen them? SCARY! Also they recorded her as well, it sounds evil to me!
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