The Rite - Das Ritual

Review of "The Rite" DVD Rated PG-13 114 minutes By Leticia Velasquez Catholic Media Review

Michael Kovak (Colin O'Donoghue) has always been "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." (Isaiah 53:3) The only son of a Chicago funeral director, Itsvan Kovak (Rutger Haer) Michael lived literally down the hall from death his entire life. Unlike most young men who never experience death close hand, Michael is steeped in it, preparing bodies for burial with his father. As a young boy, Michael is coaxed by his father into helping prepare the corpse of his mother, by gently blowing on the red fingernail polish his father applies as he lovingly prepared her body, while whispering endearments into her ear. The image is forever seared into his memory, tainting his adulthood with a lack of faith and a sense of detachment.

When time came to make a decision about his profession in life, Michael knew well that his options were limited, as he told a friend, "in my family; you either become an undertaker or a priest". Michael chose the priesthood, not out of sense of mission, but as a way out of his bleak existence and a means to pay for college. After he is ordained as a deacon, Michael's guilt over deceiving his superior about his intentions impels him to write Fr Matthew (Toby Jones) about his decision to leave the seminary. He admits he has no faith and feels he has no vocation to the priesthood.

But fate intervenes before Fr Matthew can act. The two men are involved in a car accident where a young woman is fatally wounded and Fr Matthew looks on stunned silence as Michael blesses the victim reluctantly yet tenderly as she dies. He is impressed by this and convinces Michael to delay leaving the seminary until after he has taken a two month course in Rome. A course in exorcism; "you're an undertaker, so you're not squeamish" he adds with a gleam in his eye.

Not at all squeamish, Michael plays the role of devil's advocate in his exorcism class in Rome, challenging his instructor over whether the possessed are suffering from psychosis, and is nonplussed over a sudden power outage when the demon Baal is mentioned. In order to help Michael overcome his doubts about the existence of Satan, his professor, Fr Xavier (Ciaran Hinds) sends him to observe veteran exorcist Fr Lucas Trevant (Anthony Hopkins). Michael is joined in his doubts by Italian journalist Angeline (Alice Braga) who wants him to share his experiences at Fr Lucas side for the purposes of an article. These two young cynics are about to engage in a life and death struggle which will evoke deep- seated fears and upend their world view

An eccentric Welshman, Fr Lucas lives a lonely existence in an obscure corner of Rome, occupying an ancient villa whose courtyard is overrun by cats. Fr Lucas takes Michael's cynicism in stride, and advises Michael not to engage in conversation with the demon who possesses the pregnant teen who has come with her sister for her regular exorcism session. Michael is so captivated by her predicament that he finds himself drawn into a life and death struggle with the devil whose very existence he denies.

Although the movie trailer plays like a high-tech adaptation of "The Exorcist", to which exorcism films will inevitably be compared, there is more spiritual and emotional depth to director Mikael Hafstrom's work than Blatty's. "The Rite" more closely resembles the cinematic subtlety and theological accuracy of "The Exorcism of Emily Rose", according to Fr. Gary Thomas, the priest from the book on which the film is based. Michael is a sympathetic character and the film's dramatic exposition of the tragic origins of his faith crisis help the audience sympathize with him as he confronts demons both within and without his tortured soul. Even eccentric Father Lucas, played compellingly by Hopkins is more vivid than the ghostly older priest in "The Exorcist", yet the pairing of priests to defeat Satan is a familiar theme. Fr Lucas even makes a sarcastic reference to "The Exorcist" telling Michael, "You'll see no spinning heads and pea soup here!" What will enliven Catholic viewers is the authenticity of the phenomena of the exorcisms and the splendor of the priesthood when contrasted against the darkness of pure evil. Special effects enhance but do not overpower this compelling thriller and magnificent architecture of Rome augments the timelessness of the story.

For the many fans of the book by AP journalist Matt Baglio, on which the film is loosely based, screenwriter Michael Petroni has respected the basic story while raising the emotional stakes to great dramatic effect when combined with excellent cinematography and the masterful presence of Anthony Hopkins. Priests who watched the film in the theater with me had a positive reaction but pointed the following theological errors; as a deacon, Michael could not give absolution as he appears to do in the case of the dying woman, and that an inexperienced priest with emotional wounds and of questionable faith would never be chosen to become an exorcist. Too many weaknesses for Satan to exploit, they explained. The manifestations of possession (vomiting nails and frogs, unearthly voices, superhuman strength and knowledge of inner weaknesses) are absolutely accurate, according to Fr Gary Thomas, the real priest from Baglio's book, who had a less dramatic change of heart about the existence of Satan. When I asked him in an interview whether he believed that the devil was a being he responded, "I believed when I met him".

For older teens and up for frightening and macabre scenes, appropriate but vivid sexual innuendo (verbal references to incest and rape) and foul language. This film is best seen with parental supervision.

After losing faith in the exorcism sub-genres and my sister telling me how average this movie was, i didn't expect much from The Rite. Honestly, the only reason i watched it was because of Anthony Hopkins, and i am glad i did. This movie has everything that fans want in an exorcism movie. Some people may find it a bit slow paced but the movie does not steer off course, every minute is relevant to the storyline.

Even in his 70's, Mr Hopkins did just what was expected from him. He gave a powerful performance which scared the living hell out of me and played his most convincing role since Hannibal Lector but surprisingly so did someone else, someone who i had never heard of. Yes, i am talking about Colin O'Donoghue, who managed to stay in the light and make a great connection with his co-stars. Every character in the movie was fully utilized specially that of Alice Braga.

I find that many people fail to see the spark in this film, and the only reason i can think of is that people these days are too fond of gore which this movie lacks. Surely, The Rite is not for the "Doubters" but for the people who believe and have interest in this subject.

After decades of miserable exorcism movies, finally we got us a winner. Can i dare say that this movie is better than The Exorcist?, No i cant but this is definitely the "Second Best" ..

Now i can confidently say that "you were wrong big sister".

With solid performances, amazing cinematography and mind blowing sound effects, i give it a 9/10.

From what I could see on sites such as Rotten Tomatoes, the critical consensus was not too favorable. Yet Roger Ebert thought it was a decent little film. After seeing it, so did I.

The scenario of this film was tailor-made for Anthony Hopkins. Could you imagine a better excuse for scenery-chewing and over-the-top carrying-on, other than demonic possession? So you can't complain about the overacting: the Devil made him do it. The demonically-possessed cannot be expected to turn in a subtle performance.

Hopkins did a perfectly fine job with the set up. And the rest of the cast was equally suitable for what they had to do.

It was good to see Rutger Hauer again, a totally remarkable and outstanding actor. He had a very limited role (maybe five minutes screen time total), enough to make me wish he worked more in current films. I miss him.

I have not read the book this film is supposedly based on. But I would assume that fidelity to it is not a major point. There was a lot of humanity and recognizable human emotions evident in this film, and I saw no indications that the film was intended to convert unbelievers. And it worked up to some very suspenseful situations. Which is just what a thriller should do.

This was another instance of Roman Catholic exorcism. There were seven "orders" or steps in becoming a priest. In that order, from minor to major: porter, lector, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, deacon and priest. This set of orders supposedly was instituted a millennium ago, or more. In more recent times, the "exorcist" order is virtually ceremonial. The actual current exorcists are specially appointed priests. But it makes you wonder: back in the Early Ages, the next step after reading the Bible at church services (being a "lector") was to cast out demons (being an "exorcist"). Was there a special need way back then? Such that the faithful could not wait for an ordained priest to intervene? We've also seen Protestant exorcism recently, in The Last Exorcism. I have no reason to believe that casting out demons is limited in any way to Roman Catholics. I think the next film begging to be made is a Jewish exorcism. Perhaps there is a Muslim equivalent as well.

I am not saying that you have to go out and see "The Rite" rite now in the cinema. I don't regret seeing it there. But when it becomes available in a form that you can enjoy at home, it would definitely be something worth while to watch.

This is a movie that deals with the "delicate" theme of exorcism (i.e. the practice of evicting a demon from a person they are believed to be possessed). I describe it as delicate because it seems very difficult to distinguish a person with a mental illness from someone who is possessed, IF such thing exists at all in real life.

In past times, demonic possession was a common belief to explain the abnormal behavior of a person. Even nowadays, when everything else has failed, and the science can't provide a solution, people in some parts of the world still believe in that and seek help to practices of mysticism like exorcisms.

In this movie exorcism is presented in conjunction with lost faith. It is inevitable that the non-believer has to see with his own eyes for his faith to be restored.

The atmosphere of the movie is eerie from the start. Even before the demons...present themselves! The reluctant hero and the universe that conspires so he can find his way to God, is presented in a solid way.

The cast is good. Anthony Hopkins is as excellent as ever. The music helps to establish the theme of the movie and Rome and the Vatican look majestic as ever, maybe the best set to place such a movie.

There are some grisly images but you want be scared because of them. The director bets on the atmosphere if not anything else.

Overall: Not a great movie, but not bad either. It won't help your faith to become stronger. For that look elsewhere.

The Rite looked like it would be a mixed bag right from the start. The film seemed to suffer the same fate many other films before it fell victim to and that's giving away too much of the storyline in the trailers. On top of that, it was a film that revolved around exorcism which is a subject that usually leads to disappointing results. Expectations would lead one to believe that The Rite would have enough momentum to reel you in only to drop the ball during its finale similar to last year's The Last Exorcism (except hopefully without the appearance of a neon red, glow in the dark fetus). Luckily, the film has a few surprises up its sleeve.

The cinematography in the film is probably the first thing you'll notice visually. The opening of the film makes things like dripping embalming fluid, a swing set on a playground, and an overturned shopping cart seem more interesting than they really are. Rain is an element used fairly often in the film to usually signify when something has gone wrong or is about to. Whether the camera is placed up high to make it seem like you're looking down on the cast from the heavens or down low as if you're looking up at them from the depths of the earth, the rain sequences in the film are definitely some of the most memorable due to the camera work.

This is probably a pretty obvious statement, but the film is worth seeing for Anthony Hopkins alone. It's not that Colin O'Donoghue does poorly since he certainly has a strong screen presence and does a fantastic job carrying the film, but Hopkins just manages to trump that while stealing every scene he's in and rightfully so. Father Lucas Trevant is the strongest and creepiest role Hopkins has played since Hannibal Lecter and his best role overall in years. It's just amazing seeing a man in his seventies give a performance that's this physical and this absorbing. Speaking of distinguished actors, it was nice seeing Rutger Hauer as well even if it was just for a small role.

The dream sequences and hallucinations in the film may have been my hands down favorite. I've always been a fan of the surreal, the imaginative, the creative, and the things that don't seem to make sense at first but gain meaning as the film or story progresses. I never thought I'd find myself intrigued with the actions of a mule or that frogs could have an even deeper meaning than what you're probably expecting, but The Rite accomplishes this very well.

Thankfully, The Rite delivers an exorcism film that is actually worth seeing. It'll probably be forgotten about in a year filled with so many blockbuster film releases, but considering that January and February are usually filled with such monstrous duds at the box office The Rite manages to surpass expectations. While the film does seem rather reminiscent of The Last Exorcism and borrows the atmosphere from the Heath Ledger film The Order, The Rite is actually a better experience overall. With an engrossing performance by Anthony Hopkins along with a fairly strong cast all around, its fantastic cinematography, surreal dream sequences, and a satisfying conclusion that doesn't hint at a sequel, The Rite is actually a surprisingly decent film all around. Evren Buyruk