If you have a demon that needs to be busted down to size, who you gonna call? Well, the Catholic Church apparently. ‘The Rite’ is another in a long list of Hollywood-produced movies that details the adventures of a Catholic priest working as an exorcist. Not that I have anything against the Catholic Church, or even exorcists, you understand, but really this is all beginning to feel rather tired.
Sowhat.mobi tries to review ‘movies that matter,'and initially I was hesitant to see 'The Rite' because of the fatigue factor I feel about movies like this, and because my experience has been they do not have anything balanced and meaningful to say in regards to issues like faith, and the nature of good and evil. However, early promotions convinced me to see ‘The Rite’ because they promised a more intelligent and thoughtful approach to this topic, and in some senses it actually delivers on this promise. ‘The Rite’ is slightly more intelligent than your average movie in this genre, and actually presents Christianity and Christians in a very positive manner, which is rather refreshing. ‘The Rite’ handles matters of doubt, fear and evil fairly sensitively, but (and this is an important ‘but’), it is certainly not an above average movie, and definitely does not have enough thoughtful clarity to make it worth your while.
The movie begins with a priest-in-training, Michael Kovak (Colin O’ Donoghue), who is thinking of abandoning his training because of his profound struggles with doubt. Through a tragic turn of events, he ends up under the tutorship of a veteran priest and exorcist Father Lucas, (Anthony Hopkins), who hopes that if he exposes the younger man to some of his work in confronting raw evil, then he might become more open to the reality of God. The movie then moves into ‘scary’ territory as we view scene after scene of exorcisms, with the line between psychological and demonic manifestations being realistically blurry. Nothing really convinces Kovak either way, until a surprising and frightening turn of events results in his religious skepticism butting up against phenomena he cannot quite explain. Kovak’s journey ends up in belief, which again is a somewhat refreshing turn for Hollywood but ultimately is not gratifying enough to cover over some of the uneven and confusing theological conclusions the movie stumbles into.
Hopkins is typically strong in his role as Father Lucas, but O’Donoghue does not have enough acting muscle to match him, which again contributes to the overall lack of balance. There is quite a bit of vulgarity present in some scenes, but nothing gratuitously inappropriate to a movie about the darker sides of life. Overall, however, there is nothing particularly interesting about ‘The Rite’. It treats faith with respect, but really does not say anything profound. ‘The Rite’ has a few jump-in-your-seat moments, and if you are of a sensitive nature then it is best to give it a miss, although I could not work up enough interest to get scared. This is why I just cannot bring myself to recommend you spending money to see this rather average religious-themed movie that takes spirituality seriously and tries hard to have something important to say, but is ultimately so dreary and entirely forgettable.
Two stars out of five for ‘The Rite’.