The Rite

This is the kind of movie the month of January was made for. The Rite is low key, unassuming, and not very memorable. It will fade quickly from the minds of everyone who pays to see it, and probably collect a lot of dust on DVD. That's not to say it's a terrible movie. It's just very middle of the road, and not very scary for a movie about exorcisms and demonic possessions. I guess if you've seen one person wreathing in agony as they speak in tongues and shout ungodly things at priests, you've seen 'em all.

I feel I should pay credit where it's due - Director Mikael Hafstrom (who made a much more successful thriller almost four years ago called 1408) seems more interested in finding subtle ways to unnerve his audience, rather than focusing on special effects. At least for the first hour or so. The movie seems more interested in its lead character, a young priest named Michael Kovac (Colin O'Donoghue) struggling with his faith, or his lack thereof. As the film opens, Michael is the son of an undertaker (Rutger Hauer), who is not interested in going into the family business. He runs off and joins the priesthood, but even finds that uninspiring. He fires off a letter of resignation to the father superior (Toby Jones), who thinks he has the answer to help Michael find his faith - Send him off to Rome, and train to be an exorcist at the Vatican. "It's a couple months in Rome. How bad can it be?", the father superior says.

Apparently when he said that, he did not read very far into the script. Michael arrives in Rome a total skeptic, making plenty of logical and scientific explanations to explain away "demonic possessions" in his classes. So, he's teamed up with Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins), a grizzled and dry-humored veteran who has done battle with the Devil's minions many times, and has no need for skeptics. He takes young Michael under his wing, and begins taking him along on some of his jobs. The early scenes establishing the relationship between Michael and Father Lucas are promising, but don't add up to much. I did appreciate Hopkins' performance, and how he finds the right balance of noble teacher and dry wit. In the film's single funniest moment, Father Lucas has to take a call on his cell phone while in the middle of an exorcism, leaving Michael to handle things on his own.

At this point, the movie was about an hour in, and while I was not exactly engaged, I was intrigued. The movie makes a lot out of Michael questioning his faith, and whether the things he sees when he follows Father Lucas on his jobs are really acts of the paranormal, or an elaborate hoax being played either by the patients or the Father. In fact, the movie makes too much out of it. The first half is a fairly long slog of too much dialogue, and not much else happening. Michael keeps on doubting that evil and the Devil exists. Well, of course we know they exist. The movie would be a total cheat if they didn't. The main patient that Father Lucas visits is a pregnant 16-year-old girl who claims to be possessed by a demon. I'm trying my best to avoid spoilers here, but I will say that whatever force is controlling the girl soon moves on to another body, and Michael must throw away any doubt he has to save himself.

It's at this point that The Rite flies off the rails. Whereas before it was a mostly mediocre, but somewhat intriguing study of faith, it now becomes a special effects demo. Walls rattle and shake, voices boom on the soundtrack, demonic mules and painful childhood memories haunt Michael's dreams...Yep, the Devil is here. As it becomes increasingly loopy and derivative of other films about exorcism, we think back on the opening titles that informed us that what we're seeing is "inspired by true events" and snicker. At least a disclaimer during the end credits have the honesty to admit that although the character of Michael is based on a real person, much of the film we've just watched was made up. I guess saying that right at the top of your movie doesn't sound as impressive as saying it's inspired by true events.

By the time the third act rolls around, the movie dips so much so into nonsense and supernatural cliches that we just can't take it seriously anymore. Everything goes up to overkill levels - The effects, the performances, and especially the atmosphere. All dramatic storytelling and characterization fly out the window. It turns into one big excuse for Hopkins (who up to this point was fairly subdued) to ham it up, and for O'Donoghue (a relative newcomer) to look like he's intimidated to be acting in the presence of Hopkins. As Michael, O'Donoghue is an attractive face, but he can't quite make his character come to life. Whenever he's with the film's female lead, a reporter investigating the Vatican (Alice Braga), or taking center stage as the hero during the film's insane climax, he's just not that convincing.

I have a suspicion that The Rite started out as something much smaller, until studio heads twisted the whole thing around, adding elements that just don't quite fit. To be fair, the movie held my attention, though not always in a good way. It goes on a little too long, it's never quite as engaging or smart as it seems to think it is, and the last half hour or so is a total wash. But, at least it's not boring.

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