By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Starring Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto and Alex Essoe
Directed by Julius Avery
Written by Michael Petroni and Evan Spiliotopoulos
Sony/Screen Gems
Father Gabriele Amorth, the real-life top exorcist for the Diocese of Rome from 1986 until his death in 2016, is a fascinating subject for a movie, and in fact, he has already been one. William Friedkin, who knows a bit about possession cinema, captured one of his rites on camera before his passing for the 2018 documentary THE DEVIL AND FATHER AMORTH. Now comes THE POPE’S EXORCIST, based on two of Amorth’s books, and you don’t have to wait for the “This is a work of fiction…” disclaimer in the end credits to recognize that it bears little resemblance to the reality of Amorth’s life and work.
It does, however, look a lot like the many other satanic sagas that followed in the wake of THE EXORCIST’s release 50 years (!) ago. From inverting crosses to levitating people, there are many familiar sights in THE POPE’S EXORCIST, though fortunately, the performance in the title role isn’t one of them. As the film’s Father Amorth, Russell Crowe brings a dignity, sense of playfulness and a good-enough Italian accent to Amorth, who in only his second year of service to the Holy Father faces one of his most challenging cases.
First, of course, there’s a prologue set in ’86 that introduces us to Amorth’s somewhat unorthodox approach to exorcism, which contains a moment that might upset animal lovers and one amusing detail: a symptom of an Italian young man’s apparent possession is that he suddenly begins speaking English. A year later, this being a Hollywood movie, the family desperately requiring Amorth’s help is a trio of visiting Americans. Julia Vasquez (the always welcome Alex Essoe) arrives at an abandoned abbey in Castile, Spain that she’s inherited from her deceased husband, along with her familiarly typed kids: pouty teenage daughter Amy (Laurel Marsden) and younger son Henry (Peter De Souza-Feighoney), who hasn’t spoken since he witnessed Dad’s death. How Julia’s hubby came to own the crumbling holy property is never explained, but it quickly becomes evident that something unholy is dwelling within its walls.
When that force seizes hold of Henry, Amorth is called in, and Crowe makes him an ingratiating presence. Seen early on flirting with a gaggle of young nuns and saying “No shit,” he balances a sometimes unconventionally lighthearted demeanor with a serious devotion to God and to his mission of curing those who appear to have been taken over by demons. It is explained that 98 percent of the time, their afflictions can be cured via medical or psychiatric means, though Henry, of course, is part of the two percent who are genuinely overtaken by evil. Needless to say, this is no ordinary malignance, who specifically seeks a confrontation with Amorth; this particular abbey “has given us trouble before,” says the Pope (Franco Nero–yay!), signaling that Amorth will discover farther-reaching skullduggery as he uncovers more about the vile presence he’s facing.
Like many films that put a new spin on a traditional subject, THE POPE’S EXORCIST doesn’t spin that fresh take far enough. You’d expect the script, by two writers with experience in this area (THE RITE’s Michael Petroni and THE UNHOLY’s Evan Spiliotopoulos) from a screen story by three more scribes (R. Dean McCreary, Jeff Katz and Chester Hastings), to do a little more with the idea that this particular priest is of a higher stature than most, and his relationships within the Church. Amorth does face disapproval and possible sanctions from a tribunal headed by the younger Cardinal Sullivan (Ryan O’Grady), but little is done with this conflict, and while Amorth discovers that his hellish foe has a long, dark history with the Vatican, that side of the story is wrapped up in one long, expository sequence and has little real bearing on the overall narrative.
Mostly, it’s the usual gamut of a young innocent speaking with a growly voice (that of THE WITCH’s Ralph Ineson) and profane vocabulary, guilty secrets and tragic figures from the past being used to taunt the characters in the present and a younger man of the cloth (Daniel Zovatto) joining the seasoned hero, who advises him on how not to let their foul adversary get into his head. Julius Avery (OVERLORD) directs with a certain amount of accomplished if familiar style, marshaling Khalid Mohtaseb’s strong cinematography and production design by Alan Gilmore that’s rich with religious and creepy detail, and delivering a satisfying amount of blood and thunder during the over-the-top climax. But if you’re going to do a movie called THE POPE’S EXORCIST, there should be more to it that you wouldn’t see, or haven’t seen, in a movie about your everyday garden-variety exorcist.
