This is an article for the Faith section of The Times, based on Anthony Hopkins’ latest film, The Rite.
The Making of a Modern Exorcist
A look at the new film The Rite which explores the nature of exorcism and a novice priest’s journey to discover his faith
There are many traditional beliefs held by the orthodox Roman Catholic Church that are hotly debated by religious and non-religious people today, but what about the idea that humans can be possessed by the devil? An age old myth or fantasy created by Hollywood movies you may think, but not according to Anthony Hopkins latest film, The Rite.
Exorcism – still a widely used Christian practice of removing evil spirits from a person – may seem like an unfeasible and predictable topic for a horror film, but director, Mikael Hafstrom, intelligently employs it here as an accessible topic through which to explore how we deal with the unexplained. Is there such a thing as the Devil? Or are the ‘possessed’ just mentally ill?
The film has been billed as another disturbing tale centred around Anthony Hopkins in the role of sinister villain. But, although his performance doesn’t disappoint, there is a danger that his presence could detract from the important messages of faith at the film’s heart.
Such questions are explored through Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue), an American student priest who has doubts about his own faith as well as the concept of possession. His character acts as a mouth-piece for the audience, as he insistently challenges his superiors’ unwavering faith, with arguments based on psychology and science.
He is sent for exorcism training at the Vatican – an authentic exorcism school that is still running today – to ultimately test his faith. His time there is based around the real-life experiences of Father Gary Thomas, an American priest who underwent the same training. This was chronicled by journalist, Matt Baglio, in his book, ‘The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist’, which inspired the film.
Hafstrom stresses that the events and ideas in the film are based on real beliefs. It references the fact that last year the Vatican received over half a million reports of demonic possession and begins with the words of Pope John Paul II: “The battle against the Devil…is still being fought today, because the Devil is still alive and active in the world.”
Kovak’s armour begins to fall when he starts apprenticing with the unorthodox priest and exorcist, Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins), who was once a sceptic himself, and treats the possessed using a combination of religious practices and medical expertise. When Kovak witnesses exorcisms first-hand and is confronted with things he can longer explain using science, he is forced to look within to reconcile what he believes.
By the end of the film, Kovak returns to being a priest, fully convinced of his commitment to God. He even rejects the advances of Angeline (Alice Braga), a pretty young journalist who is investigating exorcism for an article.
Such clichés of boy meets girl, as well as the theatrical demonic voice of those possessed – which sounds like it has been lifted straight from ‘The Exorcist’ or ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ – somewhat weakens the strong religious messages that underpin the film.
There were also various wasted threads and ineffectual creative devices used – such as Lucas’ evil looking cats that served no purpose to the plot and the Devil supposedly embodied through orange eyed frogs. This took away from the otherwise suspenseful and genuinely disturbing film.
On the whole though, the film depicted the Roman Catholic Church authentically and probably benefited from having genuine exorcist, Father Gary Thomas on board as a consultant.
However, whether or not you are convinced by the idea of possession as Kovak is, The Rite is an intriguing look into a much-forgotten practice that is still believed in by many people.
Indeed, most of us will not have the opportunity to witness exorcisms to convince us that God and the Devil exist, but Kovak and Lucas’ multidimensional characters show that asking questions about religion is a positive thing.
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