All about possibilities and what ifs,
The Exorcism of Emily Rose leaves you wondering at the end of the day what is it that you truly believe in?
The story itself is simple enough. A young religious farm girl, Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter), is accepted to college in the big city. She leaves home for the first time for college when strange things begin to happen to her. Expecting that she is going through epilepsy, the medical community starts feeding her drugs (go figure) but Emily's condition only seems to worsen. After several acts of contortion and surreal eye dilations, Emily's boyfriend Jason (Joshua Close) takes her home to the farm where she grew up. At the farm her family desperate for help, consults their priest, Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) who advises them that Emily is possessed and that there must be an exorcism.
The story does not end well for Emily and Father Moore is arrested for her death due to some sort of neglect during and after the exorcism. Enter stage right, Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) an agnostic defense attorney who has devoted her life to getting the bad guys off. She finds however, that Father Moore is not one of the bad guys and all he really wants is to tell Emily Rose's story as she wanted it to be told.
Whether you believe that Emily Rose was truly possessed or you believe that she was suffering from some form of psychotic epilepsy, this film certainly gave enough evidence to support either side. The way the film switched back and forth from the trial to Emily's ordeal was very well done. The Exorcism of Emily Rose also left me feeling quite frightened to be honest. And that is something that has not truly happened for me after seeing a horror film for a very long time.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose is certainly a must see. As a matter of fact, I must see it again.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose Movie Cast and Credits
Directed by
Scott Derrickson
Writing credits (WGA)
Paul Harris Boardman
Scott Derrickson
Cast (in credits order)
Laura Linney .... Erin Bruner
Tom Wilkinson .... Father Moore
Campbell Scott .... Ethan Thomas
Jennifer Carpenter .... Emily Rose
Colm Feore .... Karl Gunderson
Joshua Close .... Jason
Kenneth Welsh .... Dr. Mueller (as Ken Welsh)
Duncan Fraser .... Dr. Cartwright
JR Bourne .... Ray
Mary Beth Hurt .... Judge Brewster
Henry Czerny .... Dr. Briggs
Shohreh Aghdashloo .... Dr. Adani
Steve Archer .... Guy in Bar
Arlene Belcastro .... Praying Woman #2
David Berner .... Karl's Corny #1
Mary Black .... Dr. Vogel
Julian Christopher .... District Attorney
Aaron Douglas .... Asst. DA #1
Lorena Gale .... Jury Foreman
George Gordon .... Karl's Corny #2
Iris Graham .... Emily's Sister #2
Taylor Hill .... Emily's Sister #3
Chelah Horsdal .... Asst. DA #3
John Innes .... University Professor
Jeff Johnson .... Umbrella Guy
Michael Jonsson .... Deputy #1
Katie Keating .... Alice
Terence Kelly .... Medical Examiner
Darrin Maharaj .... On-the-Scene Reporter
Ryan McDonald .... Student in Classroom
Marilyn Norry .... Maria Rose
Joanna Piros .... News Anchorperson
Marsha Regis .... Asst. DA #2
Bobby Stewart .... Bailiff
Clay St. Thomas .... Reporter on TV
Cori Lee Urhahn .... Umbrella Girl (as Cory Lee Urhahn)
Liduina Vanderspek .... Praying Woman #1
Andrew Wheeler .... Nathaniel Rose
More Reviews of The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Roger Ebert's review of The Exorcism of Emily RoseCinematical Review of The Exorcism of Emily Rose
