It's happening. I've noticed it for a little while (Passion of the Christ, anyone?). But The Exorcism of Emily Rose doesn't just hint at a revival in religious-themed movies. It's a mainstream genre film focused squarely on inspiring religious faith. Quite honestly, I haven't seen a movie that's so directly evangelical out of a mainstream studio in a long while.
Now, there's nothing specifically wrong with a movie having a strongly Christian point-of-view. I'm an open-minded enough viewer to enjoy a movie that comes from a different religious perspective. So I can say that, as a hybrid of the Catholic-themed horror genre and the courtroom drama genre, Exorcism of Emily Rose is moderately successful. Laura Linney and Campbell Scott are fun to watch as dueling lawyers, and director Scott Derrickson knows how to put together a reasonably creepy suspense sequence. But I'm surprised that most of the reviews and press the film recieves focuses on this genre mash-up rather than the real story - the film's strident, pious religiousity.
An opening title informs us that the sad tale of Emily Rose is "based on a true story." These titles never elaborate, telling you what parts of the story are real and what parts are totally (and ludicrously) fictionalized. I don't care to do research right now, so I'll assume some collegiate girl really did believe she was possessed, and some priest really did perform an exorcism, and something went awry and the girl died.
In the movie, Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter, called on mainly to shriek and yell shit in German) has just gone off to college when she has an intensely disturbing experience early one morning, at exactly 3 am. She becomes paralyzed, and feels arms restraining her on her bed. She feels like some invisible force is trying to violate her, but she fends it off. (The whole scene is rather sexual, and recalls the fantasy/rape sequence from Rosemary's Baby.) A few days later, the force returns, and this time she is unable to repel demons from entering her body.
We see this action in flashback. You see, Emily died after a failed exorcism by her local priest (Tom Wilkinson), and now a big media-frenzied courtroom proceeding is underway to determine whether the priest is culpable for Emily's death. It's one of those science-vs.-religion "let's argue it out" kind of jobs. In this corner, we have Laura Linney, a disbeliever representing the priest to advance her career. And in this corner, we have Campbell Scott, a hard-ass prosecutor who also happens to be a very religious guy.
The rest of the film follows the same basic format as most religious fiction. Supernatural events occur that seem to back up the theory that Emily was possessed by demons, and that Laura Linney's stalwart lawyer may be next on their list. Her disbeliver character will undergo a spiritual reformation, and come around to seeing things from a more enlightened point of view.
The film, regrettably, tries to seem balanced and even-handed. After we're shown a supernatural scenario involving Emily - say, a scene in which she develops stigmata after the exorcism fails to cure her - we see a brief "natural explanation" scene, showing what might have also happened. In the case of the stigmata, we see Emily clasping her hands down on a barbed wire fence, giving her cuts.
But it's clear from frame one where the movie's sympathies lie. The movie only asks the viewer directly to accept the possibility that Emily's story might be true, but that's really just the foot in the door technique. Once you accept that demonic possession might be accurate, it's only a hop skip and a jump away from regular church attendance.
And, like I said, there's nothing wrong with a movie making a blatant appeal for faith. I just wish the film would go for it, full on, and not dither around and pretend to be unbiased and fair-minded.
WARNING: I WILL NOW DISCUSS EVENTS THE OCCUR NEAR THE END OF THE FILM. IT'S NOT EXACTLY A "SPOILER," BECAUSE THE MOVIE DOESN'T REALLY HAVE A "TWIST," BUT IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO IN TO EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE TOTALLY CLEAN, STOP READING AND JUST KNOW I THOUGHT THE MOVIE WAS, OVERALL, A-IGHT.
Okay, so, at the end of the film, we come to discover that Emily wasn't just possessed. She was given a choice to remain possessed or to simply let the demons kill her. She chooses to remain possessed, in horrible suffering in a body she can't control, here on Earth in an attempt to spread the word of God. Somehow...
Now, I thought I understood where the movie was going until this point, but this late-in-the-game development is really difficult to wrap my mind around.
How...exactly...does that sound like a reasonable course of events? Do you want to worship a God that forces young girls to go through the horrors of demonic possession as a form of advertising? Is that really the best that God can do, from a PR standpoint? Letting Lucifer violate virginal freshmen coeds? Somebody get him the number for Bumble Ward or something...
How about this...And I'm just throwing out ideas, I'm no marketing exec. How about, if God's willing to use supernatural means to announce his existence to the world...How about he just comes down and shows himself. Maybe does "Oprah" or Conan or something. Opening sketch on "SNL." I mean, instead of torturing one of his beloved, innocent human children? Just a thought...Might not be too hard getting some attention. Getting booked somewhere. I mean, God, coming down to Earth, kind of big news...I'm sure it would get picked up by most of the...big three networks. Even CNN would probably do a piece. And you know Fox would be there. He's their boy!
I mean...wow...I'll give Derrickson this...That wasn't where I thought the movie would go. I didn't expect that having a demon inside you makes you into a Christ figure. But, well, that's why I'm not writing contemporary religious-themed thrillers.
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