Rating:  

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Colin O’Donoghue, Alice Braga, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones, Rutger Hauer, Marta Gastini, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Arianna Veronesi, Chris Marquette, Torrey DeVitto.
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Director: Mikael Hafstrom
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 114 Mins.
Release Date: January 28, 2011
Home Video Date: May 17, 2011
Box Office: $33.0 Million
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New Line Cinema, Contrafilm, Fletcher & Company, Mid-Atlantic Films, and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Written by: Michael Petroni and Matt Baglio; based on the book, “The Rite: The Making Of A Modern Exorcist” by Matt Baglio.

Wasting an engrossing first 40-45 minutes, Mikael Hafstrom’s “The Rite” is ultimately another tired and overwrought exorcism epic which says nothing profound and shies away from the initial inquiries it makes into the entire practice and protocol of exorcisms in general. The film squanders away a slow and intoxicating pace to theatrics, ham-fisted acting, and a conclusion that leads one to question what the point of the entire film was in the first place.

Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue) is the son of a mortuary director (Rutger Hauer?!) and in an effort to get away from his overbearing and untenable father, decides to attend seminary school. Bringing with him a deep-seated ambivalence and wavering belief on God and religion in general, Kovak decides to graduate and then abdicate his responsibilities to the priesthood. Citing a lack of faith, Kovak informs Father Matthew (Toby Jones) of his decision and is hit with the reality that the university will look to recoup the $100,000 in tuition afforded to Kovak should he follow through with his plans. Following an incident where Father Matthew becomes convinced that Kovak’s destiny is to join the priesthood, he arranges for Kovak to study exorcism at The Vatican before making a final decision on his future.

Reluctantly, Kovak goes and comes across Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins) at the behest of his advisor, Father Xavier (Ciaran Hinds). Kovak brings a healthy amount of doubt and skepticism to Father Lucas, who has performed more than 150 exorcisms in his career. Father Lucas is honest, forthright, and impressively well spoken, which only adds to Kovak’s difficult rationalization of what’s true and what is reality. Most disconcerting to Kovak is Father Lucas’ new patient, a 16-year old Spanish girl, pregnant from her father, who is exhibiting strange behaviors and characteristics Father Lucas believes to fall in line with that of demonic possession. Kovak watches, learns, and questions, while Father Lucas prepares to free the young girl of the beast he feels is enslaving her.

Coming at what may hopefully be the conclusion of the recent spate of exorcism films, “The Rite” provides a good first half alongside a laughable and downright confounding second half, leaving the film as disappointing as it is enterprising. Mikael Hafstrom seems to be attempting to present the Michael Petroni and Matt Baglio’s exorcism screenplay in a new and fresh way. And for much of the setup involving Colin O’Donoghue’s reserved and strong turn as Michael Kovak, a Father carrying a vibrant skepticism and jaded take on exorcisms in general, the film plays at a restrained gait, matching the skepticism displayed on screen.

The mood, tempo, and pacing shift after a lengthy and unsettling exorcism scene involving, amongst other things, the bloody vomiting of nails (have you seen that before, because I haven’t!?!), and a disturbingly calm Father Trevant and suddenly much less skeptical Kovak’s handling of the event. The scene is pivotal, as everything that we have been seeing from Kovak’s perspective is brought to a shocking and disarming reality in front of, well, God and everyone, as they say. But that scene serves as a microcosm for what is ultimately at the core of “The Rite” – absurdity.

I do not find “The Rite” to be absurd because of the contentions it tries to make regarding the ecclesiastical debate of whether exorcisms are real or not. The film is absurd by incorporating a twist that occurs soon after the aforementioned exorcism occurs. The film is absurd is completely forgetting the tone and pacing it meticulously crafts for the viewer at the outset and devolving into an obvious and simple-minded horror film by the end. The film is absurd is having no clear message or point or purpose, other than to abandon its apparent message and throwing a proverbial “nevermind” at the viewer.

“The Rite” was never going to be “The Exorcist”, as no exorcism film ever will be. Yet for awhile, this seemed to be on the path of combining a skeptic’s view of exorcism with a story that was creepy and questioning and challenging and well orchestrated. Why it flees from its path and becomes unrecognizable by the end is as mysterious to me as why forcing someone to vomit nails and blood serves the world any real purpose at all. I mean, do you want to clean up that mess?

SHOULD I SEE IT?

These movies exist because people continue to want to see them I suppose. You must be one of them then?

Assuming that you want to see this, Colin O’Donoghue is quite good in the role as the skeptical and conflicted seminary graduate and Anthony Hopkins is equally as good in the first half. The acting is better than would be likely expected.

For the first half, “The Rite” is captivating and quietly affecting. And again, that’s for the first half.

The film is schizophrenic in its message. Skepticism and the curiosity around exorcisms in general is thrown aside for a twist that leaves everything interesting before it discarded and forgotten.

Anthony Hopkins has been knighted, has won an Oscar, and is widely regarded as one of the finest actors of the last 50 years. Wonder what he thinks of his performance overall here?

Please no more exorcism movies for awhile. Or ever.