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114 MINUTES | At his trial for the negligent death of the title character, Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) insists on telling the story of Emily (Jennifer Carpenter) in order that people might believe more in the spiritual world. Given the current spread of faith-based science, intelligence, and history, maybe we should be more worried about people believing in rationality. Scott Derrickson’s adaptation of this actual case avoids sensationalism by putting it in the context of a courtroom drama, but in the process he avoids suspense as well. With martini-chugging Laura Linney as Father Moore’s defender and Campbell Scott as the icy prosecutor, Emily’s tale comes out in flashbacks. A religious farm girl from a devout Catholic family, she starts to exhibit signs of possession after going away to college. Sounds like a psychological problem to me, but when pharmaceuticals fail, Father Moore steps in, with unfortunate results. Open-ended but not open-minded, Emily preaches to the converted.
.BY PETER KEOUGH
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