Combine the atmosphere of the original "Exorcist" with the plot twists of a well set and scripted judicial movie and you have an outcome that ranges on occasions from the mere spooky , to a whole new level touching a frame of issues around the "faith vs reason" nucleus, visualized through the compelling performances by Liney and Wilkinson.
The story revolves around the exorcism of a young girl and the trial which follows her death with the priest performing the ritual in the seat of the accused. The filmmakers adopt a bipolar structure in the representation of the events leading to the exorcism (the intrusion's a evil spirit/onset of a psychotic disorder) corresponding roughly to the "religious-empiric" and "scientific-analytic" points of view. In this way the underlying(?) issue of faith vs reason is kept alive and is portrayed in the intellectual and emotional transformation of the heroine during the length of the trial. In one instance this confrontation of science against religion is depicted in an a scene teeming with symbolism where the medical examiner finds himself face to face with the distraught priest leaving the room of the dead girl. The manifestation of the opposing sides of human nature could not have found a more suitable expressive medium, in this one scene.
The photography does more than its fair share in creating a proper (psychologically unsettling for the viewer) environment for the events depicted, attaining peaks such as the introductory scene of the medical examiner entering the house where the overall coldness of the lighting and the range of colors constitute an almost otherworldly image. In terms of atmosphere and overall immersion the direction performs exceedingly well and in some films (particularly of this genre) that is one virtue sorely needed to create a coherent outcome. For anyone with a weak spot for gloomy filmaking this one is a must.
The story revolves around the exorcism of a young girl and the trial which follows her death with the priest performing the ritual in the seat of the accused. The filmmakers adopt a bipolar structure in the representation of the events leading to the exorcism (the intrusion's a evil spirit/onset of a psychotic disorder) corresponding roughly to the "religious-empiric" and "scientific-analytic" points of view. In this way the underlying(?) issue of faith vs reason is kept alive and is portrayed in the intellectual and emotional transformation of the heroine during the length of the trial. In one instance this confrontation of science against religion is depicted in an a scene teeming with symbolism where the medical examiner finds himself face to face with the distraught priest leaving the room of the dead girl. The manifestation of the opposing sides of human nature could not have found a more suitable expressive medium, in this one scene.
The photography does more than its fair share in creating a proper (psychologically unsettling for the viewer) environment for the events depicted, attaining peaks such as the introductory scene of the medical examiner entering the house where the overall coldness of the lighting and the range of colors constitute an almost otherworldly image. In terms of atmosphere and overall immersion the direction performs exceedingly well and in some films (particularly of this genre) that is one virtue sorely needed to create a coherent outcome. For anyone with a weak spot for gloomy filmaking this one is a must.
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