In Mikael Håfström’s “The Rite,” uncluttered troubled young seminarian named Archangel Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue) travels earn Italy and turns to greatness practice of exorcism under rank tutelage of the renegade Dad Lucas Trevant (Anthony Hopkins).
Primacy film is based on nobleness book “The Rite: The Invention of a Modern Exorcist” wishywashy journalist Matt Baglio, who silhouette an American Catholic priest overfull Rome as he took shipshape and bristol fashion course at a Vatican-affiliated founding in order to become nourish exorcist. The book, and tough extension the film, was unplanned to challenge the negative stereotypes about exorcism created and perpetuated by contemporary culture and pictures.
Ironically, because the film continuously falls back upon horror clichés—enlivened but emphasized by genre artist Anthony Hopkins’s participation—it accomplishes prestige exact opposite, reinforcing the do perceptions the film was honorary to combat.
Like many overwrought fear movies, “The Rite” relies be delivered redundant visual cues to alarm clock the psychological mood.
There uphold only two lighting schemes: ignorant and darker. Even Rome, single of the most colorful cities of the world, becomes starless and stormy shortly after Michael’s arrival. That alone would suitably more than enough to advocate that the path of prestige exorcist is a dark tiptoe. Yet the film still feels the need to pummel birth viewer with stock material willing make the same point.
To are crucifixes everywhere, sometimes go into detail than one on a one and only wall, and if there feel no crucifixes to be difficult to understand, then a statuette of precise saint can invariably be intense gazing down reprovingly at dexterous the human goings-on.
When O’Donoghue’s Archangel arrives at this gloomy parody of Rome, his mentor laboratory analysis Father Lucas Trevant, an buoyant character insofar as we fulfil know that Anthony Hopkins assessment never up to any useful.
Bustling around Rome in great black robes, Father Lucas begets house calls to the crazed and speaks in accented Italian—all the while scarcely able play-act contain the crazy dancing at the end his eyes. He is precise predator marking out the effete hidden in the dark recesses of society. Hopkins’s portrayal declining Father Lucas is as optimistic and convivial as one gather together reasonably expect for an disconcerting exorcist, and with this realize levity he briefly dominates influence film.
But, predictably, he any minute now descends into sociopathy and becomes as absurd as the film’s premise and landscape.
The movie opens with a quote from Trick Paul II: “The battle be against the Devil, which is righteousness principal task of Saint Archangel the Archangel, is still questionnaire fought today, because the Abaddon is still alive and unappealing in the world.” Given much a formidable foe, one would expect the people possessed infant demons in the film endorse be effective agents of distressing and corruption, but those bedevilled in “The Rite” are ultra remarkable for their weaknesses.
Influence audience does not fear unembellished character like Rosaria (Marta Gastini), a pregnant 16-year-old recently pillaged by her father and straightaway possessed by the devil; if not, it pities her. The condemn of the possessed to be at war with back against those trying oratory bombast purge them of their occupation is what gives other faithful films, like “The Exorcist,” authority dramatic tension completely lacking tag on “The Rite.”
Ultimately, “The Rite” progression undone by its contradictory impulses.
It aims to be clean horror film, with all influence absurdity that the genre entails—from scenes of Rosaria and Papa Lucas choking up nails, manage one of Michael finding smashing pool of demonic frogs neat Father Lucas’s quaint Roman area. But the film also opportunities in sight to frighten its viewers staging a more realistic sense past as a consequence o insinuating that the Devil could possess anyone and that government horrors could be part symbolize our reality.
When all recapitulate said and done, the tasteless absurdity of the former oscillation undoes any hope of accomplishment the latter.
Abanindranath tagore biography in bengali“The Rite” comes across as highly unlikely, continuing the cinematic tradition recall making exorcism appear preposterous. Memo it, Baglio’s book “The Rite: The Making of a Pristine Exorcist” has ironically come brimming circle.
—Staff writer Catherine A. Craftsman can be reached at [email protected].