THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE

"I am the one inside"

Defence lawyer Erin Bruner (Linney) has made a name for herself with big profile cases but when she takes on a case of negligent homicide involving a Catholic priest, she takes on more than just the court case. The death of country girl Emily Rose (Carpenter) is shrouded in controversy with medical and spiritual connotations because the prosecution is saying that she died because of Father Moore's actions that led up to him performing an exorcism.

Demonic possession has become a horror movie stalwart but can a more realistic approach bring some credibility to an exorcism?

Based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman who suffered the same fate in the 1970s, Hollywood has kept most of the details but relocated the events to modern America and changed the names of the characters. What makes the film different from every other movie that has dealt with demonic is that possession itself is not the maid driving force of the story. This is, at its essence, a courtroom drama about a Catholic priest's involvement in the death of a nineteen year-old girl.

The Hollywood version of the story takes a devout catholic country girl and sends her to a big city University. There, one storm filled night she is attacked by an invisible assailant and is never the same again. As she starts to see and hear things and then lose control of her own actions, she turns to her priest Father Moore. This is the driving force of the film but not the main element of it.

This is a courtroom drama driven by the quest to find the truth and how religion and science try to explain what happened to Emily Rose. Father Moore is charged with negligent homicide because he didn't do enough to prevent her from dying. As demonic possession is deemed impossible by the modern world, the prosecution explains to the jury that is was the lack of medical care for a curable condition that led to her death. The defence argues however that demonic possession is real and her religion is the only thing that could have saved her. This is an argument that goes much deeper that whether Emily was possessed or not, but an argument for belief and the existence of evil in the world.

By treating the subject matter with respect and realism however, the film is not as frightening as it could have been. The main problem is one that has plagued many films with the same premise, why would the Devil, the ultimate embodiment of evil, possess a nineteen year-old country girl? Surely he would be better off possessing someone of influence or power to escalate his hold on the world. What could he possibly do as a girl from the countryside? While some may argue that he is corrupting an innocent but this doesn't seem to be evil enough.

The performances however are realistic. With Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson and Campbell Scott in the courtroom, you can expect the film to take itself very seriously. Laura Linney is one of the finest actresses working in cinema today and as the slightly sceptical defence lawyer Erin Bruner, she creates believable character that is easy to follow and get behind. Tom Wilkinson continues to make a name for himself in Hollywood. The British actor is excellent as Father Moore, even though he has a slightly dodgy American accent. Campbell Scott returns to big budget Hollywood for the first time in years and reminds the big wigs that he is an accomplished actor that can bring something more to a quite dislikeable character.

Stealing the show however is the performance of Jennifer Carpenter as Emily Rose. She really conveys the sense of fear as her condition worsens during the flashback recounts of her possession. This is a real career-making role for the actress and shows her impressive rage that should see her in the mind of many a casting director.

'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' is excellently acted but lacks the scares that would have made it a great, intelligent horror movie. The premise is first rate and it is approached with great intelligence so that you are intrigued by the story and the performances but it doesn't strike any fear into you. The lingering question of why the Devil would possess Emily means that this doesn't impact that it should have but this is still decent intelligent horror and much better than anything Hollywood has produced in a long time.