The Rite

Satanic Activity/Demonic Possession/Exorcism
I just saw this in the theater and it was excellent! Our story begins with a Catholic mortician (Rutger Hauer) and his young son, Michael (Colin O'Donoghue). Fast forward about 10 years, Michael is a man and leaves the Kovak & Son family business to study to become a priest. Four years later, Michael is graduating the seminary college but is very confused about his future. He has not taken his final vows when he is sent to Rome for two weeks training on The Rite of Exorcism. When he is encouraged to meet the less orthodox Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins), he sets out on a path of understanding that far exceeds his expectation that demonic possession is just a psychological condition.

This slightly less than 2 hour film is well done, sufficiently scary, suspenseful, and reminds us that Satan is the master of illusion. It is also a film about the importance of having faith. Sir Anthony is outstanding in his role as a priest who has been performing exorcisms for some time...

Anthony Hopkins at his best
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...

Hypnotically fascinating...intense thriller with strong performance from Anthony Hopkins...
THE RITE may well have produced some mixed reviews, but I have to admit that having just seen it at my local multiplex theater, I found it a gripping enough experience although I was not particularly fond of the limp ending. The script should have provided a more satisfying conclusion.

ANTHONY HOPKINS, manages to create a full-bodied character from some very thin material. Matching him every step of the way as a young priest who is beginning to have too many doubts about his faith is COLIN DONOGHUE. He holds his own in every scene with Hopkins, who gives his creepiest performance since "Silence of the Lambs."

A major asset is the film's cinematography, especially for the scenes in and around Rome, and whether photographed in rain or shine. The film, in fact, owes a lot of its spellbinding power to the fantastic camerawork and the delicately haunting background score with its occasional uses of strong chords for shock value.

But it's Hopkins who anchors...

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