The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

Director:

Scott Derrickson

Writers (WGA):

Paul Harris Boardman (written by) &
Scott Derrickson (written by)

Release Date:

9 September 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror

Tagline:

What happened to Emily?

Plot:

A lawyer (Linney) takes on a negligent homicide case involving a priest (Wilkinson) who performed an exorcism on a young girl.

Plot Keywords:

Priest | Lawyer | Exorcism | Negligent Homicide | Trial

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

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
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 Crony #1

Also Known As:

The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel (USA) (working title)
Untitled Scott Derrickson Project (USA) (working title)
El exorcismo de Emily Rose (Argentina) (Ecuador) (Spain) (Venezuela) [es]
L'exorcisme d'Emily Rose (Belgium: French title) (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Besatt (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Der Exorzismus von Emily Rose (Germany) [de]
Egzorcizam Emily Rose (Croatia) [hr]
Emily Rosen riivaaja (Finland) [fi]
O Exorcismo de Emily Rose (Brazil) [pt]
O exorkismos tis Emily Rose (Greece) [el]
Seytan çarpmasi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, including intense/frightening sequences and disturbing images.

Runtime:

119 min | USA:122 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Assyrian Neo-Aramaic | German | Greek | Hebrew | Latin | Aramaic

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | Australia:M | Taiwan:R-12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Portugal:M/12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Mexico:B15 | Indonesia:Dewasa | Germany:12 | Czech Republic:15 | France:-12 | Argentina:13 | Brazil:14 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | USA:Unrated (DVD) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41453) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | South Korea:12 | Germany:16 (uncut DVD version) | Japan:U | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

D Block, Buchanan Building, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Screen Gems

Trivia:

Based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman who suffered a similar fate to the fictional Emily Rose in the 1970s, and "The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel", an account of the subsequent court case by expert witness Felicitas D. Goodman. Michel's parents and the two priests who performed her exorcism were prosecuted, and ultimately jailed for manslaughter. The most significant differences are that Michel periodically fasted for several months as part of her exorcism and remained on medication until her death, while the fictional Rose refused to eat due to her delusions and was taken off her medication by her carers.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The stop button is pushed on the tape recorder during the courtroom scene, but the tape continues to play for a few more seconds.

Quotes:

Erin Bruner: Good morning. I'm Erin Bruner. May I sit down?
Father Moore: I brought the chair for my public defender. I guess they left it here when they decided that I wasn't going to kill myself with it.

Movie Connections:

Version of Requiem (2006)

Soundtrack:

Prelude, Op. 3, No. 2 in C Sharp Minor

Worth Watching

This is an interesting film. While it's not terribly frightening, the film's juxtaposition of court room drama, and the exorcism scenes are intriguing. I found it to be less of your stereotypical demonic possession movie (ie: The Exorcist), and more of a film that leaves you pondering the possibilities and questioning our more modern perspectives and scientific rationales for things that sometimes can't be adequately explained through these means. The fact that it's based on the reported possession of Anneliese Michel (circa 1970, Germany) does make the film more unnerving. The actor's performances, while not exceptional, are at least engaging. The special effects are rather limited, but well done. All in all, It's a film that 's certainly worth watching.