The Rite (C- or 1.5/4 stars)
Wait, a not-so-great 'inspired by true events' exorcist flick released in January? No way. The movie in question is 'The Rite' (directed by Mikael Hafstrom). And the 1st scene sets a morbid tone for the rest of the story. The scene shows Michael preparing a corpse for an ensuing funeral. The way the scene is filmed is just incredibly macabre; with Michael tending to the woman's gums, washing her hair, seeing it go down the drain, etc. Loved that. Back to the story. Newcomer Colin O'Donoghue plays Michael Kovak, the son of an undertaker who decides to enter the priesthood as a way to stay out of the family business.
But Michael starts becoming skeptical of his priestly intentions. And towards the end of his seminary training, his mentor, Father Matthew (the great Toby Jones), recommends him for a special program in the Vatican. Father Matthew thinks that Michael has what it takes to be an exorcist, & Father Xavier (Ciaran Hinds, haha), the priest who runs said program, agrees. But Michael is losing his faith; not believing in God, the Devil, or demons. So Father Xavier ships the reluctant Michael off to mentor with Master Exorcist Father Lucas (Sir Anthony Hopkins). Shadowed by a journalist (Alice Braga) seeking 'the truth', Michael learns that some of Lucas' methods are QUITE unorthodox. That's all fine & good, but when darker things start occurring to some of Lucas' possessed patients ... all prior philosophies go out the window - and a powerful demon is ready to wreak havoc on one of the holiest spots on the planet.
The 1st half of the film is better than the 2nd. The story engages in a debate btwn. supernatural explanations for demonic possession, as well as rational ones. Michael is an atheist (prioritizing medicine & science). When challenged by Father Lucas, Michael provides logical explanations that would debunk any demon theory. Of course, the name of this film is 'The Rite', and there is a crazy-demon climax, so the 'logical explanations' portion of the film is just to reel us in. But Michael's stabs at science were fun while it lasted {haha}. 'The Rite', more intelligent than not, descends into what I call 'flimsy' territory by the end.
If I liked anything in the movie, it was of the particulars. i.e., that opening scene; Colin O'Donoghue's wonderfully subtle portrayal as the young priest; the gloomy European flavor that Swedish director, Mikael Haftrom, brings to the proceedings; the fact that the script favors a verbal approach rather than too many cheap scares or gross-out techniques; the climax includes both warring parties having a duel of wits (rather than witnessing green puke flying everywhere, spinning heads, or hurricane-force winds); and of course, watching Anthony Hopkins in anything is a treat. And you can see he was having a blast with this material. Loved a scene where he stares down a little girl in classic Hannibal Lecter fashion; and what happens next is just awesome. Sounds like I enjoyed a lot ...
The problem with all of that is ... the script's filler material is incredibly, incredibly dull. I almost nodded off several times. And that's not because there are few physical confrontations. It's because the pacing & hushed dialogues were sometimes way too languid & muted. A creepy atmosphere can only take you so far; even though I can rest upon atmosphere to take me far. So overall, I can't recommend 'The Rite' as wholly satisfying. The sense of atmosphere is palpable. But in the end, the pace of the film is just WAY too slow, some of the dialogue is lame, there are unfortunate tonal shifts, & the climax (though fine) shouldn't have been so generic; given how stellar the 1st half was. The foundation was there, but if the film had more dramatic energy, I'd have liked it a lot more.
But Michael starts becoming skeptical of his priestly intentions. And towards the end of his seminary training, his mentor, Father Matthew (the great Toby Jones), recommends him for a special program in the Vatican. Father Matthew thinks that Michael has what it takes to be an exorcist, & Father Xavier (Ciaran Hinds, haha), the priest who runs said program, agrees. But Michael is losing his faith; not believing in God, the Devil, or demons. So Father Xavier ships the reluctant Michael off to mentor with Master Exorcist Father Lucas (Sir Anthony Hopkins). Shadowed by a journalist (Alice Braga) seeking 'the truth', Michael learns that some of Lucas' methods are QUITE unorthodox. That's all fine & good, but when darker things start occurring to some of Lucas' possessed patients ... all prior philosophies go out the window - and a powerful demon is ready to wreak havoc on one of the holiest spots on the planet.
The 1st half of the film is better than the 2nd. The story engages in a debate btwn. supernatural explanations for demonic possession, as well as rational ones. Michael is an atheist (prioritizing medicine & science). When challenged by Father Lucas, Michael provides logical explanations that would debunk any demon theory. Of course, the name of this film is 'The Rite', and there is a crazy-demon climax, so the 'logical explanations' portion of the film is just to reel us in. But Michael's stabs at science were fun while it lasted {haha}. 'The Rite', more intelligent than not, descends into what I call 'flimsy' territory by the end.
If I liked anything in the movie, it was of the particulars. i.e., that opening scene; Colin O'Donoghue's wonderfully subtle portrayal as the young priest; the gloomy European flavor that Swedish director, Mikael Haftrom, brings to the proceedings; the fact that the script favors a verbal approach rather than too many cheap scares or gross-out techniques; the climax includes both warring parties having a duel of wits (rather than witnessing green puke flying everywhere, spinning heads, or hurricane-force winds); and of course, watching Anthony Hopkins in anything is a treat. And you can see he was having a blast with this material. Loved a scene where he stares down a little girl in classic Hannibal Lecter fashion; and what happens next is just awesome. Sounds like I enjoyed a lot ...
The problem with all of that is ... the script's filler material is incredibly, incredibly dull. I almost nodded off several times. And that's not because there are few physical confrontations. It's because the pacing & hushed dialogues were sometimes way too languid & muted. A creepy atmosphere can only take you so far; even though I can rest upon atmosphere to take me far. So overall, I can't recommend 'The Rite' as wholly satisfying. The sense of atmosphere is palpable. But in the end, the pace of the film is just WAY too slow, some of the dialogue is lame, there are unfortunate tonal shifts, & the climax (though fine) shouldn't have been so generic; given how stellar the 1st half was. The foundation was there, but if the film had more dramatic energy, I'd have liked it a lot more.