The Exorcism of Emily Rose (marketed as The Exorcism of Emily Rose-Bognot in some Asian countries) is a 2005 American courtroom drama horror film directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson. The film is loosely based on the story of Anneliese Michel and follows a self-proclaimed agnostic who acts as defense counsel (Linney) representing a parish priest (Wilkinson), accused by the state of negligent homicide after he performed an exorcism. The film, which largely takes place in a courtroom, depicts the events leading up to and including the exorcism through flashbacks.
Plot
Lawyer Erin Bruner defends a priest, Father Richard Moore, charged with negligent homicide for his spiritual oversight over a girl named Emily Rose, which included a failed exorcism and which supposedly led to her death.
Cast
- Laura Linney as Erin Christine Bruner
- Tom Wilkinson as Father Richard Moore
- Campbell Scott as Ethan Thomas
- Jennifer Carpenter as Emily Rose
- Colm Feore as Karl Gunderson
- Joshua Close as Jason
- Kenneth Welsh as Dr. Mueller
- Duncan Fraser as Dr. Cartwright
- J. R. Bourne as Ray
- Mary Beth Hurt as Judge Brewster
- Henry Czerny as Dr. Briggs
- Shohreh Aghdashloo as Dr. Sadira Adani
Production
The screenplay was written by director Scott Derrickson and Paul Harris Boardman; in honor of the contributions of Boardman and other collaborators on the film, Derrickson chose to forgo the traditional "film by" credit. According to Derrickson's DVD commentary, he chose Boardman as his co-writer because Derrickson sees himself as a believer and Boardman as a skeptic, and believed the pairing would provide the screenplay with two different perspectives, thus providing the film some ambiguity as to whether it supports a religious/supernatural interpretation of the events depicted, or a more secular/medical interpretation.
The character of Emily Rose was inspired by the story of Anneliese Michel, a young German Catholic woman who died in 1976 after unsuccessful attempts to perform an exorcism upon her with psychotropic drugs. The court accepted the version according to which she was epileptic, refusing to accept the idea of supernatural involvement in this case. Two priests involved in the exorcism, as well as her parents, were found guilty of manslaughter resulting from negligence and received prison time (which was suspended), generating controversy. Michel's grave has become a place of pilgrimage for many Catholics who believe she atoned for wayward priests and sinful youth, and honor her as an unofficial saint. The film is based on Felicitas Goodman's book The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel.
German director Hans-Christian Schmid launched his own treatment of Michel's story, Requiem, around the same time in late 2006.
Reception
As of April 2012, The Exorcism of Emily Rose had made $144,216,468 worldwide. In 2006, the Chicago Film Critics Association listed the film in their Top 100 Scariest Films Ever Made at #86. Jennifer Carpenter, whose "demonic" bodily contortions were often achieved without the aid of visual effects, won "Best Frightened Performance" at the MTV Movie Awards in 2006; however, according to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, critical reception to the film was overall mixed. As emphasized by Roger Ebert, who described The Exorcism of Emily Rose as "intriguing and perplexing", the film "asks a secular institution, the court, to decide a question that hinges on matters the court cannot have an opinion on". Ebert noted that "the screenplay is intelligent and open to occasional refreshing wit". Paul Arendt from BBC outlined that "the flashback story... is high-octane schlock that occasionally works your nerves, thanks to a committed performance from Jennifer Carpenter".
The general consensus between 150 critics was that "[the film] mixes compelling courtroom drama with generally gore-free scares in a ho-hum take on demonic cinema." It holds a 45% 'rotten' approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 150 reviews. On Metacritic, it has an overall score of 46 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.
See also
- List of ghost films
- Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes
- Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers
- Possessed
- Exorcism of Roland Doe
References
External links
- The Exorcism of Emily Rose at the Internet Movie Database
- The Exorcism of Emily Rose at Box Office Mojo
- The Exorcism of Emily Rose at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Exorcism of Emily Rose at Metacritic
- Comparison of the true story and the film at Chasing the Frog
- Q&A on the film with screenwriters Scott Derickson and Paul Harris Boardman
- Sony Pictures - The Exorcism of Emily Rose