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Though the number of credulous people in the world is larger than I might hope, I'm not alone in this world-view. Fortunately, the courtroom drama structure of Exorcism is not just about allowing the audience to act as jury - if you're already predisposed to one opinion or other, that's not going to be much of a source of tension. Instead, the film functions as an examination on how the spiritual/supernatural and the strictly rational collide in American life. The question the jury must decide is not just whether or not young Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter) was actually possessed, but whether her parish priest's sincere belief that she was is enough that her death while under her care can be considered a crime.

Arguing that it was is Assistant District Attorney Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott), a prosecutor chosen for both his strength as a prosecutor and his strong church ties. Defending Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) is Erin Bruner (Laura Linney), an ambitious lawyer instructed by the diocese to avoid controversy, though her own ambition may lead to her allowing the priest to tell Emily's story on the stand. Thomas will argue that what the Roses and Father Moore took for possession were in fact the symptoms of a seldom-diagnosed form of epilepsy, while Bruner will produce witnesses and an expert witness of her own (Shoreh Aghdashloo) to argue that possession is possible and that, in any case, what's important is that Moore and the Roses believed it was possible. The presiding judge (Mary Beth Hurt) will have to walk a tightrope to determine what place religious beliefs have in a court of law.

If there's a flaw in this otherwise excellent movie, it's that director Scott Derrickson (who co-wrote the film with producer Paul Harris Boardman) is on occasion too willing to make this a supernatural horror story; a few scenes with Linney seem to cast aside carefully nurtured ambiguity. Pity, because the scenes where we see Emily's frightening behavior cast as either medical or demonic depending on who is doing the telling are excellent: While Derrickson creates a bombastic, violent atmosphere in Bruner's version, Thomas's are equally, if differently, scary, where the steady camera and lack of music forces the audience to look at something it can't immediately categorize while confronting how the body can turn against itself.

The cast is, for the most part, everything one would want of them. Even if I don't like or approve of Bruner's gradual change from ambitious shark to true believer, I believe it. I may have snorted in disgust at her closing argument, but Linney sells that the character believes it and could convince a jury. Campbell Scott, meanwhile, uses his peculiarly deep voice and clipped way of speaking to command authority and also suggest a hint of arrogance - the audience may perhaps want him taken down a peg even if he's the one talking sense. Tom Wilkinson is dependable as always (and sporting a much better accent than what he used in Batman Begins), projecting a belief that can be seen as frightening or righteous depending on your point of view. And though we see her only in flashbacks, Jennifer Carpenter makes a strong impression as the doomed Emily, who despite being the first in her family attend college is still relatively unsophisticated - nice, but in way over her head.

Parts of the movie frustrated me, because I come in thinking that the supernatural is pretty silly, and hearing explanations like "3am is the witching hour because it's the opposite of the time of the crucifixion" makes me ask inconvenient questions about time zones and daylight savings time. And yet, the parts that aggravated me are also what makes it work in some instances; if it's meant to be a movie about how superstition can still trump rational thought even in the twenty-first century, it works; but it can also be seen as a story about where the boundaries between church and state can break down.

So, well done. And, hey, it works if someone just wants a horror movie, too.

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originally posted: 11/29/05 10:06:58
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