While "Exorcism" is never a great film, or the type of great film it could be, I found myself being easier on it than other PG-13 quasi-horror flicks. Why? I can't really say for sure. I'm never easy on any film I review, and everything goes under a microscope, but for this I allowed some lapses in logic and whatnot, because it's a good film in the end. It's
entertaining and engrossing enough to keep the audiences attentions and the courtroom politics really do manage to become entrancing simply because of the well cast parts. This is "The Exorcist" mixed with "Inherit the Wind", a downplayed quasi horror thriller about religion versus medicine. It's very simple, uncomplicated and to the point in its premise and characters. What inevitably won me over though was the cast, the great cast. I love Laura Linney, love Campbell Scott, and love Tom Wilkinson, and these power house actors really did win me over in the end.

A film with Campbell Scott can't always be too bad. Regardless, the casting was perfect, and many times the story really managed to grab me and pull me in. Loosely based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman who suffered the same end as Emily Rose did here, Laura Linney plays Erin, a sour lawyer whose boss offers her a chance to make partner if she takes the case. Tom Wilkinson is good as Father Moore, a man whose been accused of negligent manslaughter, and seeks out to spread the word of Emily for her sake, but now Erin has to defend Moore and prove him innocent beyond the shadow of a doubt. "Exorcism" becomes both a law drama in the tradition of "Rashomon" and a basic allegory for the continuing battle of logic versus religion. One aspect "Exorcism" excels in is being able to spark conversation among its audience whom will depict this as they prefer to. Some will view it as a film about a girl possessed whose savior became a martyr, but for me it was simply another depiction of religion vs. science.

"Exorcism" often shows the sheer lunacy of religion and its practices when applied to cerebral dysfunction as it occurred to Emily here. Many cases of exorcism have been fatal due to its inability to recognize that the problem was a mental disease that could not be recognized by the people involved. "Exorcism" dares you to make your analyses while laying out the facts on the table. Was she possessed by the devil, or was it a neurological disorder they refused to accept as her inevitable fate? It's very possible her own religious hysterics associated with her mental disease killed her, but the writers never want to rule out that anything is possible. What inevitably won me over was the basic principal cast of the film. Laura Linney is involving and powerful as the misanthropic lawyer who delves deep in to the case for the wrong intentions but becomes more involved than she knows, while Campbell Scott gives a great performance as the religious Ethan Thomas, a man whose own religion never conflicts with his good judgment.

He's a paradox; more than willing to stick to his religious principals but refuses to believe that magic played any role in Emily's death. Jennifer Carpenter who is a basic newcomer appearing in the atrocious "White Chicks" as a socialite (the one who goes berserk about her weight while trying on clothing), gives an excellent performance as Emily, conveying raw emotion and acting skill. She possesses the exact traits of innocence and vulnerability needed for this tragic character. Scott Derrickson gives very competent directing knowing just how to balance drama and supernatural horror together in a formidable hybrid. "Exorcism" knows how to be a frightening thriller (with some disturbing special effects) and an engrossing drama, and Derrickson takes the task on well.

Derrickson's approach towards this clashing of genres really does tend to misstep every now and then with a script that's never as engrossing and involving as it could be. For a film which would require so much texture and depth, it's shallow and only really approaches this head-on without any subtext or emotional baggage. Though, he does explore the notion of Religion vs. Science he never bothers to examine how this one case basically can reflect how society thinks of the topic. What could have been a good commentary on how religion can distort medical conditions that are as plain as day is altered to simply cater to the Hollywoodizing which turn this in to a quasi-supernatural semi-courtroom thriller. And there was no point in adding the supernatural elements that didn't adhere to the case. Not only did it detract from the realism, but it was a distracting plot device that took me out of the real events at hand.

Though, it can be seen as adding some flavor to this drama, Derrickson pulls it off as someone trying to pad his story, and give more screen time to his actors. "Exorcism" also runs like an episode of "Law & Order" with a strictly procedural narrative, barely any character emphases and no study on how the case is affecting these people. Campbell's character is shown during the courtroom scenes only, Linney's back story really is never explained, and we're never fully aware of what the priest was all about. It's lawyers, exposition, the case, the end. Derrickson further proves he's afraid to take chances, by the climax which ends up becoming one of the biggest cop outs I've seen in a while. "Exorcism" in spite of its very relevant subject matter fails to own up to its ambition with a climax that basically showed it had no balls to pick a side, and basically caters to both which ends up feeling more cowardly than actually climactic.

While it's never a great movie, feeling like an extended episode of "Law & Order", with devices added that detract from realism, and an ending that is a humongous cop-out, it's still a good movie, a good enough movie to garner a good review from me. With a great cast, a very good performance from Carpenter, very good use of special effects and
a story that garners social commentary however minimal, I was pleased.

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