Directed by Daniel Stamm. Written by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland. Produced by Eli Roth. Starring Patrick Fabian, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Ashley Bell, Jamie Alyson Caudle, Tony Bentley, Shanna Forrestall, Allen Boudreaux and Caleb Landry Jones.
This review contains minor spoilers.
More than a simple exorcism movie, The Last Exorcism is the story of Reverend Cotton Marcus, a flawed and surprisingly human character (and perhaps more importantly a devout family man) who is more showman than faith healer. He has also lost his way and is now more interested in exposing exorcism than continuing his religious practice. Gathering a film crew to document the elaborate charade he has been involved in since he was a bible belting child, Cotton heads out to perform his final rite of exorcism. They travel to a nearby poverty ridden Parrish in Louisiana and meet the Sweetzer family: widower Louis, his son Caleb and his possibly possessed daughter Nell. The camera records Cotton expertly and meticulously setting up the rite and deceiving the Sweetzers in believing he is actually performing a real exorcism. Paid in full and ready to return to Baton Rouge after a nights rest, Cotton is confronted by Nell who appears in his hotel room, catatonic and vomiting. After a brief trip the hospital, Cotton and his film crew return to the Sweetzer family farm and things begin to unravel, challenging Cotton’s beliefs, faith and morality.
The film belongs to Patrick Fabian who stars as Reverend Cotton Marcus. It is his natural and charismatic performance that draws the viewer in and invests them in the story, both Cotton’s humanity and the Sweetzers’ safety. He brings the character a richly nuanced, believable quality that causes the viewer to look past his flaws and believe his motives. It’s a rare achievement in the genre. He’s as three-dimensional as it gets. The crew isn’t as effective, but they are here to represent the viewer and the person sitting next to the viewer and in that they succeed.
The Sweetzers are also very well rounded. Louis is an emotionally defeated father, living in despair and poverty leaning heavily on the bottle. He is also deeply rooted in his religious belief as science has horribly failed him. “Eight doctors couldn’t save her” he reveals about his recently deceased wife and he proclaims that psychiatry is a sham. Caleb, the son, is seen as rebellious and disbelieving in his father and his beliefs. He is also shown to be keenly aware of Cotton’s deception and is oddly supportive of it. Nell is the innocent sixteen year-old troubled daughter who has been all but hidden away from the world by her over protective father. She is suspect of having killed the farm animals and supports her father’s notions that something evil is inside her. All the actors portraying the Sweetzers, Louis Herthum, Ashley Bell and Caleb Landry Jones, are excellent in their roles and each are wholly believable in their respective characters.
The film is elusive in revealing what is actually happening to Nell. At one point, she is clearly brainwashed by her troubled father. Not too long after, it is unclear and she might be mentally disturbed, perhaps schizophrenic. Then after the film crew hears a short message on the answering machine, she may be a victim of incest or rape. Then she might just be possessed after all. The answer may never clearly be given. Shot in Cinema Verite, documentary style, the narrative is presented solely in the perspective of Cotton and the film crew. What they hear, what they think, what they experience is all the viewer is provided to decide for themselves what is really happening.
Then, however, the story reaches its end and in a few quick moments all is thrown up in the air. It is either one of the most destructive counter-productive conclusions to be filmed or, perhaps, one of the most brilliant. It gives you answers quickly. It doesn’t allow the viewer to digest what they’re seeing and then, suddenly, the end. It’s over. The filmmakers make a bold decision to end in such a manner. For many it will be satisfying, for just as many it will be frustrating. But it does make the viewer think.
For this reviewer, the ending did not sit well and I left the theater almost angry; however, I thoroughly enjoyed Cotton’s story up to that point. If I didn’t enjoy the end itself, I did enjoy getting there. Later, as I discussed the movie with friends (an act that comes highly recommended after seeing this film), I began to realize how much of the film, especially the story of Reverend Marcus, I found satisfying and rewarding. The ending is still a bitter pill to swallow – it’s not as succinctly put together as the first hour and thirty five minutes; however, I applaud the film for making me think and recollect the movie leading up to its controversial conclusion.
6.5 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment