Plot Synopsis
A
young girl (Jennifer
Carpenter) dies under the care of her parish
priest (Tom
Wilkinson). While attending college, Emily
believed she became possessed. After medical
care ceases to work, she turned to her faith.
In the care of her priest she dies and he goes
on trial for her death. He is represented by
a career-minded and driven lawyer (Laura
Linney )
who does not believe in God. Thus is the story
of Emily Rose, told by those in the trial and
the priest who watched her through her possession. |
 |
Emily
Rose is actually Anneliese Michel. From
her birth on the 21st of September, 1952,
Anneliese Michel enjoyed the life of a normal,
religiously nurtured young girl. Without
warning, her life changed on a day in 1968
when she began shaking and found she was
unable to control her body. She could not
call out for her parents, Josef and Anna,
or any of her 3 sisters. A neurologist at
the Psychiatric Clinic Wurzburg diagnosed
her with "Grand Mal" epilepsy.
Because of the strength of the epileptic
fits, and the severity of the depression
that followed...Read
more of "True Story of the Exorcism
of Emily Rose" |
|
|
Editorial Reviews
A
surprise hit when it was released in September
2005, The
Exorcism of Emily Rose tells a riveting
horror story while tackling substantial issues
of religious and spiritual belief. It's based
on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a German
student who believed she was possessed by demons,
and whose death during an attempted exorcism
in 1976 led to the conviction of two priests
on charges of negligent manslaughter.
As
director and cowriter (with Paul
Harris Boardman),
filmmaker Scott
Derrickson
adapts this factual case into a riveting courtroom
drama in which questions of faith, and the possibility
of demonic possession, take the place of provable
facts in the case of Father Moore (superbly
played by Tom
Wilkinson). A small-town Catholic priest,
Moore has been put on trial for the post-exorcism
death of Emily Rose (Jennifer
Carpenter), a college student who, like
her real-life inspiration, believed she was
suffering from demonic possession.
As
an agnostic defense attorney (Laura
Linney)
argues the father's case against a Methodist
prosecutor (Campbell
Scott),
flashbacks reveal the exorcism ritual and Emily's
ultimately fatal ordeal, and Carpenter's performance
is so frighteningly effective that it's almost
painful to watch. From here, the film remains
deliberately ambiguous, leaving viewers to ponder
their own belief (or lack of it) in the supernatural.
It lacks the extreme shock value of The Exorcist,
but by leaving room for doubt and belief in
a legal context, The Exorcism of Emily Rose
gains depth and resonance in a way that guarantees
similar long-term appeal. Editorial
Review by Jeff Shannon at Amazon.com |
