Greetings friends of CineTV, I am once again joining another of your wonderful contests. This week corresponds to your favorite TRIAL / COURTROOM DRAMA movies!.
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Really, this genre was never one of my favorites, I remember that one of the first films I saw about trials was "A Matter of Honor", with Tom Cruise in the leading role, it premiered in the year 1992, but I saw it a few years later.
I saw it at the cinema with some friends who suggested it as one of the best movies of that time. I saw it forced, I didn't understand anything, I think I was about 25 years old, and being in the cinema, I wanted it to end because it seemed very boring, in fact, I don't remember anything to tell you a little about it.
My favorite movies include horror, suspense, drama, or comedy. Regarding this last genre, “Legally Blonde” was released, I didn't see it while it became a box office success, I saw it a long time later. It never really caught my attention, but one fine day I decided to check it out.
The film that premiered in 2001 and starred Reese Witherspoon, is about a blonde girl named Elle Woods, very pretty and popular, who was aware of fashion and other superficialities of life, but suddenly decides to enroll in law school to follow her ex-boyfriend. The girl was harshly judged for being blonde, who was said to "have no brain." Finally, she graduates with honors and proves to everyone that hair color doesn't define intelligence. However, before graduating, being a law student, she takes her first case, and solves it very well.
I liked that, and actually found it interesting how Elle Woods found fault with the prosecution to defend her client, who was on trial for murder. Movies that involve courts and tribunals are not my favorites, but with the maturity that the years give us, they now seem very interesting to me, and in fact, I am one of those who follows the case until the end to discover the murderer or who is guilty or innocent before they reveal it in the movie.
Now yes, without further ado, the film I chose for this contest is “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”. It is rare that I present you with a horror movie if the subject is about trials and dramas in courtrooms, but this cinematographic film is not the typical scary movie because it is combined with justice while several Flashbacks show the development of the story.
The plot centers on Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter), a 19-year-old girl who lives with her family in a rural area and then leaves to go to the city to study for a university degree. . Everything was going well for the young woman, until one night, at about 3:00 in the morning, an evil presence visits her and since then her life has become a nightmare. She thinks it's about demons, and in turn begins to suffer from muscle spasms that suggest she has epilepsy. To attack her ills, she is treated with various medications, since she was also diagnosed as a psychotic patient suffering from hallucinations.
The medications have no effect on him, and not only that, he has stopped eating and that has weakened his body. Convinced that she needs an exorcism, she turns to Father Ricahrd Moore (Tom Wilkinson). The priest performs the exorcism on Emily and records it, it is obvious that the girl is possessed and that is why Father Moore urges her to stop taking the drugs. Emily doesn't need the medicine because what she has isn't a mental illness.
The exorcism fails, and Emily eventually dies. The death of the young woman is attributed to Father Moore, who was charged with negligent homicide. Moore will be tried and his case is taken by Erin Bruner (Laura Linney), a lawyer who wants to join a prestigious law firm.
Part of the film takes place in the courthouse, where various factors come into play, science, the supernatural and justice. It was a difficult case for Erin to prove, because the psychological part came into play, although Emily heard voices and had hallucinations, this behavior was attributed to the fact that she was diagnosed with schizophrenia, since the symptoms she presented were compatible with the disease.
One of the pieces of evidence presented by the defendant was the recording of the exorcism, Emily spoke in several languages and had different voices. The prosecution was skeptical, claiming that Emily studied multiple languages and made the voices by straining her vocal cords. This is how the trial was maintained, each of the evidence of possession presented by Father Moore's defense attorney was challenged based on science and was often mocked by the prosecuting attorney, Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott) .
What I liked and hated about the film
I liked it because it's horror, it's one of my favorite genres, but the fact of introducing the legal part and the theme of justice added a special plus. It was of course very interesting to see how the case played out in court and with the expectation of knowing what the verdict was, Father Moore pleaded not guilty and held this conviction firm to the end.
I also liked the fact that Erin Bruner persevered despite many factors against her and gave the impression of not having as much trial experience as her opponent, the attorney, Ethan Thomas.
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I hated Ethan Thomas's arrogant attitude, of course it was his job to put behind bars whoever he thought was guilty, in this case Father Moore. I also didn't like the pressure Erin was subjected to, her boss threatened to fire her if the priest presented her testimony, something like the last letter to save himself from conviction.
The scenes that shocked me the most
The first one was seeing Emily all bent over when she suffered muscle spasms from epilepsy, it was really scary.
Another of the scenes that shocked me is knowing that the hour of the dead is at 3:00 am, and that the trial was surrounded by evil forces so that justice would not be done. An important testimony to prove the innocence of Father Ricahrd Moore, was that of the doctor Graham Cartwright (Duncan Fraser), who witnessed the exorcism and could attest that it was a diabolical possession and thus demonstrate the innocence of the priest. However, he dies suddenly, hit by a vehicle just a few hours before appearing to testify. Erin witnesses the tragedy and tends to give up.
The actors
I want to highlight Jennifer Carpenter. I was impressed by the role of the protagonist, as I had already mentioned, Jennifer Carpenter, in the role of Emily Rose she had to contort several times, and I wondered: how did she do that? It's not easy, besides screaming, jumping and clawing walls.
The case
It was difficult because of the contrast between the supernatural, science, and laws, plus the fact that the only witness died. However, the case had to end and the verdict was given.
A movie based on true events
This film was based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a German woman who died the following year after being subjected to an exorcism. Post-death investigations showed that she was dehydrated and malnourished, she was also under psychiatric treatment and after leaving it she died. Following his death, a trial was opened against his parents and the priests who conducted the exorcism, who were charged with negligent homicide.
This is my participation in this contest