Exorcism Of Emily Rose, The (Blu-ray)

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"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling." – Philippians 2:12

In the summer of 1976, the disturbing death of a young German Catholic woman named Anneliese Michel sparked worldwide controversy when her story started making headlines around the globe. The Michel family along with two men of the cloth, Father Arnold Renz and Pastor Ernst Alt, all strongly believed that Anneliese' deteriorating health leading up to her demise was the sinister result of demonic possession. According to the reports, Anneliese even underwent a series of exorcisms performed by the priests in an effort to expel the demons from her body. However, medical professionals disputed this claim, stating that Anneliese' symptoms--including her hallucinatory visions and violent seizures—all stemmed from a treatable mental disorder and her life could have been saved if the family had only sought out proper medical attention.

Eventually, Anneliese' parents and the two clergymen were charged with negligent homicide for their actions. I won't post the outcome of the trial here, but a quick Google search on "Anneliese Michel" will bring up that information for anyone who's curious. Just be warned that some sites contain actual photos that were taken at the time of her death and even sound clips of the actual exorcisms--which I personally found to be pretty unsettling.

Nearly thirty years after Michel's tragedy and using the book "The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel" by Dr. Felicitas Goodman as his inspiration, director Scott Derrickson and co-writer Paul Harris Boardman brought Michel's tale to the big-screen in the loosely adapted 2005 film, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." Sony recently revisited their catalog to release the title in high-definition on Blu-ray.

In the film, Tom Wilkinson ("Michael Clayton") plays Father Richard Moore, a priest that has been arrested for negligent manslaughter after word got out that a young college student named Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter) died of malnutrition and dehydration under his care. The Moore character is basically a combination of the real-life Renz and Alt, and he adamantly believes that Emily was possessed by demons. Father Moore worked closely with the family to try and exorcise the damned souls from Emily, but ultimately failed in his mission.

The Archdiocese hires the law firm of Karl Gunderson (Colm Feore) to represent Moore in hopes of quickly sweeping the whole incident under the rug so that it doesn't fall back negatively upon the Church. Gunderson assigns the case to Erin Bruner (Laura Linney), a brilliant junior partner within the firm, who wants nothing more than to further her career by having her name stenciled on the door. As an agnostic, Erin doesn't feel like she's the right woman for the job, but she reluctantly accepts anyways once she's enticed with promises of a full partnership by Gunderson.

Erin heads down to the county jail to meet her client, and has already mapped out a plan of attack for the trial that most certainly doesn't include touching the possession angle or even putting Father Moore on the stand. Moore, however, has other ideas, and only agrees to let Erin represent him with one stipulation. When the time comes, he wants to be able to tell Emily's story. Erin agrees, half expecting that it wouldn't go that far.

Things go from bad to worse at the trial, where Erin sees that she has an uphill battle facing a prosecution led by Assistant District Attorney Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott). Thomas is apparently devoutly religious, but he still is gunning fast and furious for Father Moore. Thomas' arsenal includes a whole slew of medical experts claiming that Emily actually had a treatable psychotic epileptic disorder. This in turn forces Erin to change her original strategy and embrace the supernatural, which not only infuriates the church but also her firm.

Those who are expecting a flat out horror film might be disappointed with "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." Sony released the title on Blu-ray as part of a trifecta of catalog horror titles in late July, and while the other two films, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legend are both slasher movies geared towards teenagers and young adults, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" is sort of the ugly duckling of the group. It has more of a mature theme, and is best described as a courtroom drama interlaced with elements of suspense and the paranormal.

The film can be seen as slow moving, but it really doesn't feel that way with the caliber of the acting. We have two Oscar-nominees, Linney and Wilkinson, who splendidly immerse themselves into their characters so well that the movie never becomes boring or tiresome. They practically burst with credible emotion and make it seem like what's happening on screen is the real deal.