The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

Based on a true story, this film is both a riveting courtroom drama and a first class chiller. A Catholic Priest (Tom Wilkinson) is on trial for homicidal negligence after performing a failed exorcism on Emily Rose, devout college girl (Jennifer Carpenter) now dead from assorted wounds and malnutrition. Laura Linney plays Erin Bruner, the priest's defense lawyer, and Campbell Scott plays the chief prosecutor, who argues persuasively that Emily was likely suffering from psychotic epilepsy and could have been saved with hospitalization and medicine. The demonic possession unfolds in a series of spine-tingling flash...
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backs and as it does so, the initially doubtful Erin is visited by evil forces and her own soul seems to be at stake. More than a criminal negligence case, the trial becomes about the importance of recognizing the limits of rationality and the possibility of a world beyond the visible. In portraying the extent to which wildly different belief systems have splintered modern society this film couldn't be more relevant or timely. Linney and Campbell are first rate, as is to be expected, creating great depth for their characters even though the script grants them almost no personal lives; it's a very "stick to the facts" sort of tale. Each character lives a life of apparent near-isolation, which adds to the cumulative effect of unease. The house where Emily grows up is spookily oppressive, the scenes of possession are truly scary and a dark sense of foreboding may follow viewers long after the credits have rolled. Carpenter earns a place as a 21st century scream queen with her hair-raising, fearless performance; Mary Beth Hurt plays the judge.
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Advocate Erin Bruner onderzoekt de zaak van een 19-jarige studente die door de duivel bezeten was, en overleed nadat een pastoor een duivelsuitdrijving op haar uitvoerde. De advocate aanvaardt schoorvoetend pastoor Moore te verdedigen in ruil voor een partnerschap in het advocatenkantoor waar ze werkt. Naarmate het proces vordert, worden Erins cynisme en agnosticisme op de proef gesteld door het onwrikbare geloof van de priester en de angstaanjagende, onverklaarbare gebeurtenissen rond de zaak.

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In this blend of psychological thriller and courtroom drama, Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter) is a 19-year-old college student who begins displaying bizarre and troubling behavior; as her actions become increasingly destructive and shocking, Emily begins speaking in strange tongues and destroying religious symbols that surround her. Emily's parents believe that their daughter has become possessed of the devil, and the Catholic Church agrees to authorize an exorcism of the young woman. As Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) attempts to drive the demons from Emily's body, the girl dies in the midst of the taxing ceremonies...
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, and Father Moore finds himself charged with negligent homicide. Attorney Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) is hired to represent Father Moore against prosecutor Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott), who intends to prove there were concrete medical explanations for Emily's behaviors, including epilepsy and schizophrenia, all leading to a heated courtroom debate between the notions of faith and science. The Exorcism of Emily Rose was inspired by the real-life story of Anneliese Michel, a young woman from Germany who died in 1976 after priests in Wurzburg spent eight months attempting to exorcise demons from her body.
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In an extremely rare decision, the Catholic Church officially recognized the demonic possession of a 19-year-old college freshman. A lawyer takes on a negligent homicide case involving a priest who performed the exorcism that resulted in the girl's death.

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