Post by klep on Sept 21, 2020 7:35:37 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 9/21: The Exorcist
ADAPTATION WEEK!
It's a long time in The Exorcist before we see anything outright supernatural happen. Instead, the film focuses on introducing its cast and establishing an atmosphere. We first meet Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) on an archaeological dig in Iraq, where his team uncovers a small totem or fetish depicting a gruesome figure. From that moment on, director William Friedkin works to give every shot an aura of menace. Everything and everyone seems a threat to Merrin, including his own apparently poor health. And the statue he ultimately finds is no less menacing - a graven demon, complete with prominent erect penis.
The transition to the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. is as complete as it is sudden, and as a consequence that feeling of foreboding unease follows. When Chris (Ellen Burstyn) thinks she hears rats in the attic, we're already thinking "It's not rats." When she goes to shoot a scene for something she's acting in it all seems fairly normal, but a priest in the crowd has a bit of a dark look to him. He doesn't do anything menacing at all (indeed he's one of the film's protagonists) - nor is there anything particularly odd about hearing noises coming from an attic, but that opening sequence has colored everything. We're expecting menace, and so we find it whether it's there or not.
And then the Ouija pointer shoots across the board.
From that point on things start getting more and more out of control. Regan (Linda Blair) changes from a bright, happy girl who loves horses into someone sullen, withdrawn, and occasionally violent. But just as unsettling as the supernatural happening around Regan are the scenes of doctors probing and imaging her - their utter helplessness to explain her ailment and their unwillingness to believe Chris' stories of what's happening. The moment when the doctor tells her it's not Regan's bed that's the problem had me thinking about the systemic problem of doctors not believing women when they describe their symptoms.
So science fails, and Chris turns to the church. The image of Father Merrin re-entering the picture at Chris' doorstep has been a constant presence in marketing for the film, and with good reason. It's an incredibly powerful image, inspiring both hope and foreboding. Silhouetted by the streetlight, Merrin looks like a man walking to his death. It's his last battle, and he doesn't expect to come out alive.
But the exorcism itself is all about Father Karras (Jason Miller), who had been on the fringes of the plot until Chris sought him out for help. While Chris and Regan have been experiencing an allegory for the hellscape of the American medical industry, he's been wrestling with a crisis of faith and feelings of guilt over his inability to do better for his mother. While he goes into the exorcism uncertain if the possession is real it does not take long for him to realize it is. Confronted with the horrible reality in front of him, he finds himself willing to believe again and to make the ultimate sacrifice to save an innocent girl from a terrible fate.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 9/28: Pink Flamingos
NO THEME WEEK!
Our next Movie of the Week comes from legendary purveyor of trash cinema John Waters with his cult classic Pink Flamingos. Famously marketed with a trailer that included no actual film footage, Pink Flamingos chronicles Divine's struggle to retain the title of "The Filthiest Person Alive." Come join us next week for our discussion of this film, which unfortunately does not seem to be streaming anywhere.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 9/22: Dogtooth
Yorgos Lanthimos' uncomfortable film about a family that keeps their kids isolated in the house kicks off a pairing about toxic family situations. Join us Wednesday for our discussion of this film, available on Criterion Channel and Kanopy and for rent in the usual places.
ADAPTATION WEEK!
It's a long time in The Exorcist before we see anything outright supernatural happen. Instead, the film focuses on introducing its cast and establishing an atmosphere. We first meet Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) on an archaeological dig in Iraq, where his team uncovers a small totem or fetish depicting a gruesome figure. From that moment on, director William Friedkin works to give every shot an aura of menace. Everything and everyone seems a threat to Merrin, including his own apparently poor health. And the statue he ultimately finds is no less menacing - a graven demon, complete with prominent erect penis.
The transition to the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. is as complete as it is sudden, and as a consequence that feeling of foreboding unease follows. When Chris (Ellen Burstyn) thinks she hears rats in the attic, we're already thinking "It's not rats." When she goes to shoot a scene for something she's acting in it all seems fairly normal, but a priest in the crowd has a bit of a dark look to him. He doesn't do anything menacing at all (indeed he's one of the film's protagonists) - nor is there anything particularly odd about hearing noises coming from an attic, but that opening sequence has colored everything. We're expecting menace, and so we find it whether it's there or not.
And then the Ouija pointer shoots across the board.
From that point on things start getting more and more out of control. Regan (Linda Blair) changes from a bright, happy girl who loves horses into someone sullen, withdrawn, and occasionally violent. But just as unsettling as the supernatural happening around Regan are the scenes of doctors probing and imaging her - their utter helplessness to explain her ailment and their unwillingness to believe Chris' stories of what's happening. The moment when the doctor tells her it's not Regan's bed that's the problem had me thinking about the systemic problem of doctors not believing women when they describe their symptoms.
So science fails, and Chris turns to the church. The image of Father Merrin re-entering the picture at Chris' doorstep has been a constant presence in marketing for the film, and with good reason. It's an incredibly powerful image, inspiring both hope and foreboding. Silhouetted by the streetlight, Merrin looks like a man walking to his death. It's his last battle, and he doesn't expect to come out alive.
But the exorcism itself is all about Father Karras (Jason Miller), who had been on the fringes of the plot until Chris sought him out for help. While Chris and Regan have been experiencing an allegory for the hellscape of the American medical industry, he's been wrestling with a crisis of faith and feelings of guilt over his inability to do better for his mother. While he goes into the exorcism uncertain if the possession is real it does not take long for him to realize it is. Confronted with the horrible reality in front of him, he finds himself willing to believe again and to make the ultimate sacrifice to save an innocent girl from a terrible fate.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 9/28: Pink Flamingos
NO THEME WEEK!
Our next Movie of the Week comes from legendary purveyor of trash cinema John Waters with his cult classic Pink Flamingos. Famously marketed with a trailer that included no actual film footage, Pink Flamingos chronicles Divine's struggle to retain the title of "The Filthiest Person Alive." Come join us next week for our discussion of this film, which unfortunately does not seem to be streaming anywhere.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 9/22: Dogtooth
Yorgos Lanthimos' uncomfortable film about a family that keeps their kids isolated in the house kicks off a pairing about toxic family situations. Join us Wednesday for our discussion of this film, available on Criterion Channel and Kanopy and for rent in the usual places.