THE film The Ritual (Cert. 15), based on the exorcisms of Emma Schmidt in 1928, is a tale of two narratives. David Midell says of his film that it will be seen by those with a background in faith and religion as a spiritual struggle for the soul of a human being, while the more scientifically minded may regard Emma as a person in need of psychiatric assistance.
The priest appointed to exercise this ministry of deliverance is Fr Theophilus Riesinger. Al Pacino, sporting a trimmed-down version of the full beard associated with Capuchin friars, turns in a surprisingly constrained performance. He is certain that Emma’s condition pertains to the numinous and that she is possessed by demons.
To an extent, the character of Fr Joseph Steiger (a deeply divided Dan Stevens) represents the other perspective. His Iowa parish is chosen as the venue for delivering the woman from her medically inexplicable terrifying afflictions. The Sisters at the convent where the exorcisms are carried out also have their doubts regarding their appropriateness. They are, nevertheless, impelled to assist during the various ritual procedures.
Based on one of the most documented cases of Satanic activity, the film tries harder than most exorcism movies to offer alternative understandings of the phenomena that we are witnessing. Our eyes, however, are mainly telling us a different story: one of levitations and foul-mouthed, jaw-breaking violence — and all accompanied by many of the usual cinematic tropes of the genre, such as sudden loud noises and hand-held, distorted lens camerawork.
There is a plethora of such movies, including The Exorcism of Anna Ecklund (2016), which covers the same event, albeit using Emma Schmidt’s pseudonym. Rarely do they reach the standard of The Exorcist, released in 1973. One admirer, the film critic Mark Kermode, has watched the latter more than 200 times. It’s unlikely he’ll do the same for the present film.
Even so, The Ritual persists in questioning any doubts that we may have about what we are seeing on screen. Fr Riesinger, quoting Hamlet, tells his younger colleague that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy. And, like previous exorcism movies, it asks us to examine whatever theology we have about the reality of the devil. Does the power of evil take on personal attributes and invade the very essence of a human being? And what is the befitting response: prayer or medication — or both?
Perhaps The Ritual is endeavouring to draw our attention to something more important than whether this disturbing, supernatural behaviour occurred, and, if so, why. Rather, there are equally puzzling conditions that so far defy adequate medical explanations, let alone remedies. The director worked as a therapist for children and adults with disabilities, and is on the autism spectrum himself. His films frequently address questions about how society treats its most vulnerable citizens.
Putting the film into this context makes it more about those bedevilled by torments almost beyond our imagination, and the situation of bewildered but deeply caring individuals only too glad of any religious and therapeutic assistance that they can garner.