The Exorcist on Trial

In the tradition of "The Exorcist," "Constantine" and "Stigmata" comes "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." However, the film is very different from these other movies and even from how it was represented in the trailers. More creepy than scary, the movie is a mixture of the legal case against the priest and the story of the exorcism.\n"The Exorcism of Emily Rose" attempts to tell the true story of Anneliese Michel, a German girl who died in 1976 from starvation due to her affliction, whatever that may have been. \nDirected and co-written by Scott Derrickson ("Urban Legends: Final Cut" and "Hellraiser: Inferno"), the movie stars Tom Wilkinson as Father Moore ("In the Bedroom," "Shakespeare in Love," "The Full Monty"), Laura Linney as the defense attorney ("Kinsey," "The Truman Show") and Jennifer Carpenter as Emily Rose ("White Chicks").\nIt opens with the town coroner coming to the Rose home to examine the already dead body of Emily, then cuts to the preparation for the trial of the priest who performed the exorcism. The actual possession and events that lead to Emily's death are retold through flashbacks as witnesses and experts testify in the courtroom. \nSimply done, Derrickson's direction allows the viewer to focus on the story and the acting. Wilkinson's portrayal of Father Moore is very calm and collected and I believe his devotion is to telling Emily's story. Linney's character isn't fully defined, but she works well with what she's got, a career defense attorney growing a heart and maybe some faith. And Carpenter's performance as Rose did manage to creep the hell out of me a couple of times.\nChanging the character from German to American makes sense, especially in relating the legal side of the story. However, there are grave discrepancies in the story. For example, the movie represents the girl's change over a few months but in actuality Michel's was over the course of about eight years. But misrepresentations are always to be expected when adapting a story to film.\nWhile "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" isn't exactly what I had expected, it is still an edge-of-your-seat movie. It raises a lot of religious and spiritual questions and will no doubt refuel interest in "certain aspects" of Catholicism. And while some may say exorcism and the law don't mix well, think about this -- both rely on Latin, both consist of good and "evil," there's that God-like figure that is the judge and nobody wants to go to jail or Hell. Coincidence? I think not!