A Feature on The Exorcism of Emily Rose

In 1999 the Vatican revised the Official Rite of Exorcism text for the first time in over 400 years. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago recently appointed the first full-time official exorcist in its 160-year history and in New York, four Catholic priests have officially investigated over 40 cases of possession since 1995. Is demonic possession possible? Or can the phenomena be explained away by science as chemical imbalance resulting in schizophrenia or epilepsy? If we believe that a good true God exists, mustn’t we also believe in the parallel opposite?

These questions are posited in a new film from Sony/Screen Gems opening this Friday. Told in terrifying flashbacks, “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” chronicles the trial of Father Richard Moore played by Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson. The priest performs the ritual of exorcism on a college co-ed he believes to be possessed by demonic spirits. The young freshman subsequently dies and the priest is arrested and accused of negligent homicide. Two-time Oscar Nominee Laura Linney plays Attorney Erin Bruner – a cynical agnostic assigned to defend Father Moore by the Archdiocese.

Sony/Screen Gems has decided to market this film as a standard horror movie. The inevitable comparisons to Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” are inferred as the trailers and commercials almost completely feature flashes of a young woman under possession. The ghoulish imagery from her fractured point of view and scenes of freakish paranormal activity are clearly aimed at young moviegoers – the lucrative market that tends to come out in droves (usually on opening weekend) for this type of film. Director Scott Derrickson and screenwriting partner Paul Harris Boardman have actually constructed a sturdy courtroom drama replete with elements of horror and that may come as a surprise to many in Friday night’s audience. Laura Linney’s presence in the film has not been showcased very much in any of the advertising. When asked if that concerned her she said, “No, there’s nothing we can do about that. Studios are studios and they know that their target audience is young and there are a lot of young people who go to theatres to see this sort of (film) and it will be very satisfying to them.”

Linney did a lot more for this film in addition to portraying her role. She recommended Campbell Scott for the role of Prosecuting Attorney Ethan Thomas and suggested it might be a very good idea to audition Jennifer Carpenter in the pivotal role of Emily Rose. Both Linney and Carpenter studied at Julliard and costarred in the most recent Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”. Their relationship seems to be that of a mutual admiration society. Linney says of Carpenter, “I have never been so impressed with anyone in rehearsal in my life as I was with her. She is exceptionally talented. Physically she’s an athlete so there’s a physical component that’s very rare. But more than that, it’s her approach to things, how she thinks about her work, how she prepares for it, the connections she makes, the imagination that she has, it’s her integrity in knowing what her responsibilities are, it’s her selflessness. She will serve the project that she is in. I have enormous respect for her. I also love her to bits.” Carpenter says of Linney, “I came late to the process. They were already auditioning for the role. I never would have seen the script if it weren’t for Laura. I didn’t have any scenes with her, so on my days off I would go to watch her work and try to steal from her but she’s too good. (laughs)” Carpenter didn’t find it odd that she didn’t have any scenes with the lead actress. “It was great. It was kind of like shooting two movies. I got to watch her work. And I had the honor of working with her before so I feel like I got the best of both worlds.”

Upon spending a little time with Derrickson and Boardman one thing becomes very clear. Derrickson is the Mulder, the believer and Boardman is the Scully, the skeptic. Derrickson bases his willingness to believe in that which we cannot fully explain in his upbringing. During high school he was a conservative fundamentalist. He sees his belief system these days as more of a “reaffirmation of a reasonable faith” and feels that there may be malignant forces out there. Boardman does not believe in the possibility of demonic possession but admits there is evidence that does support the probability. He’s a kind of “Show-Me cynic”.

The film is being advertised and ‘based on a true story’. I did a little research and found that this movie is based on an incident that occurred in Bavaria, Germany during the late 1970s. When Derrickson and Boardman were asked about this incident and about the existence of an audiotaped excerpt from the ritual, they both became very tight-lipped. They’re both somewhat guarded when speaking on the actual case even though it is referred to at length during a tag ending in the film. According to Boardman, “The structure of the story allows the characters to question their personal belief systems. Linney’s Erin goes through many challenges to her way of looking at the world that make her start asking herself the kind of questions that religion and a spiritual world view cause us to ask.” Derrickson says, “The benefit of being able to flashback during the courtroom scenes to varying perspectives on the possession and exorcism of Emily Rose allows the audience to make up their own mind about what they think may or may not have happened. My intention was to make a film that provokes people to ask themselves what they believe about evil, what they believe about the demonic. Inevitably when you ask questions like that you end up asking yourself what you think about God, what you think about morality, and what you think about the nature of memory and truth.”