Yesterday we went to see The Exorcism of Emily Rose, a movie based on the true story of a woman named Anneliese Michel, who died during a rite of exorcism. Her parents and the priests that performed the exorcism were charged with negligence and failure to provide first aid.
The movie tells the story of Emily Rose as a series of flashbacks taking place during the trial of the priest who performed the exorcism. The priest is persistent that he wants to be able to tell “Emily’s story” while the arch-diocese does not want him to testify, as they do not want to be embarrassed by the trial.
I wouldn’t characterize the movie as bad, but it is definitely something I would wait for video to see it. I think, for me, anything having to do with exorcism has always interested me, so I really wanted to see it. If you are expecting something along the lines of the outrageousness in The Exorcist, you’ll definitely be disappointed. This movie is not over the top at all and the trial story line is rather plodding.
Overall I think I liked the movie. I say ‘I think’ because I am normally quite polarized when I dislike a movie and get pissed when I’ve wasted my time on something that I didn’t like (Disclosure was one of those movies — after reading the book I saw the movie and was completely irritated at how they ruined the story that was so well told in the book).
When I walked out of this movie, I wasn’t irritated. I wasn’t real excited either. I just didn’t think it was necessarily a waste of time. It’s definitely not a movie to write home about, but it would make a good rental.
As I said earlier, its not The Exorcist and if thats what your looking for don’t waste your time. If you want to see a story that is “based on a true story” on the subject, wait for rental.
