A movie about exorcism may seem like rather flashy material for bringing up such weighty issues, but if you take the Bible at its word, as I assume many readers of this publication do, then the question of when and how often demonic possession is misconstrued as a psychological disorder is a legitimate one. And its cultural implications need not only apply to something as dramatic as possession.
Is it possible, for example, that depression is sometimes treated as a physical condition when it is more symptomatic of a spiritual sickness—of the malaise that comes from living a purposeless life? Or are the behaviors we now label “compulsive” (over-eating, over-drinking, over-copulating) nothing more than old-fashioned sin? When one of Linney’s colleagues suggests that possession only occurs in Third-World cultures because they still have primitive superstitions, Linney counters, “Is that it? Or is it that we’ve given the condition a socially-acceptable term while they look at it and call it by its right name?” Movie-goers may ultimately decide they agree with the colleague, but chances are Emily Rose will make them give serious consideration to the alternative.
This is not to say that Emily Rose is a perfect vehicle to sublimity. Derrickson gives into a few hokey elements and one or two nagging plot holes, like why Emily’s parents shouldn’t be as legally culpable as Father Moore. Ambience has its place in generating fear, but the entire purpose of Emily Rose was to place supernatural occurrences in the real world of the courtroom so that we experience the possibility that they’re authentic. Relying on clichés like creaking doors, constant drizzle, and barely-glimpsed shadows undercuts this endeavor. At several points I wondered where on earth this college was that it never stopped raining there. But if audiences come away disappointed from The Exorcism of Emily Rose, it will mostly be the fault of Sony’s marketing team who advertised the film (no doubt with the lucrative teen demographic in mind) as one in a line of typical scream fests that return to screens every fall. It would be a shame if their approach keeps older, more thoughtful viewers away.
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Emily Rose will doubtlessly pose doctrinal problems for audiences from denominational backgrounds other than Catholicism, yet the film’s underlying themes speak to people of faith whether they believe Emily was possessed or not. The most affecting moments of the film don’t involve the Virgin Mary, the Crucifix, the Stigmata or any other traditionally Catholic symbol. Instead, they are those moments that unify us in our belief, such as when Father Moore stands in front of the judge to receive his sentence only to find that though the jury has found him guilty, they recommend a sentence of “time served.” “Father Moore,” instructs the judge with gravity, “you are guilty…and you are free.” Pray God that we all receive that same sentence on Judgment Day.