The Exorcism of Emily Rose Page #4

...during witch hunts | for being possessed.

Glad you don't have to defend | those guys.

- How are we on our medical experts? | - Not good.

The psychiatrist you wanted | is tied up in another trial.

And the neurologist is sailing | to Costa Rica.

This book I'm reading, | it's by an anthropologist.

It's about contemporary cases of | possession, mostly in the Third World.

People there are still | primitive and superstitious.

Maybe.

Maybe they see possession | for what it really is.

Maybe we've taught ourselves | not to see it.

- You saying you believe in this stuff? | - No.

Maybe we shouldn't just try | to invalidate the prosecution's case...

...by punching holes | in the medical approach.

Maybe we should also try | to validate the alternative.

- Validate possession in a court of law? | - Yes.

Okay. I guess we could bring in | some priests to talk about exorcisms...

No, the archdiocese | won't let us do that.

They wanna limit the Church's | exposure to Father Moore.

I've got three articles by the | anthropologist who wrote this book.

She approaches | the subject of possession...

...from a scientific perspective | and doesn't try to debunk it.

- You want me to track her down? | - Yeah.

Keep looking for a medical expert | to refute Dr. Briggs.

But send the case file | to this Dr. Sadira Adani.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury...

...as you know by now, | my name is Erin Bruner...

...and I represent the defendant, | Richard Moore.

Mr. Thomas has contended | that Emily Rose suffered...

...from a serious medical condition...

...that required medical treatment, | nothing more.

He has asserted that any attempt | by my client...

...to help Emily by anything | other than medical means...

...was not only inappropriate, | but criminally negligent.

I'm now gonna ask | that you keep an open mind...

...to what our evidence | and testimony will show.

Medical treatment was not | the answer for Emily...

...because she simply did not suffer | from a medical condition.

She was neither epileptic | nor psychotic.

Emily Rose's condition, in fact, | was demonic possession.

An exorcism was her only hope | for a cure.

Some of you may find yourself unable | to reconcile Emily's beliefs...

...or those of the defendant | with your own.

You may not believe demons exist. | You won't have to.

Because you will see that after the | utter failure of doctors to help Emily...

...Father Moore simply tried | to help Emily in a different way...

...using an approach that he, | Emily and her family firmly believed...

...was her only chance for relief.

And we will show that | despite his greatest efforts...

...and his sincere love for Emily...

to prevent the death of Emily Rose.

Are you okay?

Aren't you gonna eat anything?

the clinking of spoons and forks.

She was always hungry, | but she said they wouldn't let her eat.

Who did she mean by "they"?

The forces that were | in control of her.

That were inside her.

You know, the demons.

Tell us what else happened | that night.

I walked her back to her dorm...

...and she seemed really nervous | and scared.

trying to calm her down.

she wasn't beside me.

Emily?

Hey.

Can you hear me?

to bring Emily home.

Jason and I put Emily to bed...

... hoping she would sleep.

And when did Father Moore | become involved?

Emily stayed home after that.

She didn't return to school, | and she kept getting worse.

Eventually, when she didn't get better, | we called our priest, Father Moore.

When he arrived, | I sent my daughter Alice upstairs...

... to see if Emily was awake.

Emily?

Can I come in?

- Our Father, who art in heaven... | - Emily?

Father Moore is here. | Can you come downstairs?

- as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread...

Emily, can you hear me?

Let's get her off the floor.

Alice, no!

You've suffered a terrible loss, | Mr. Rose. I know this is difficult.

So thank you for being here today.

Sir, do you often read the Bible?

- Yes, I do. | - So do I.

What about the "DSM"?

The "Diagnostic and Statistical" | "Manual of Mental Disorders"...

...commonly referred to | as the bible of abnormal psychiatry.

- Have you read that? | - No.

So you're not aware | that according to the "DSM"...

...a person's refusal to eat is | a common indication of anorexia?

Objection. The witness just said | he hasn't read the "DSM", Your Honor.

- Sustained. | - Mr. Rose...

...are you aware | that catatonic rigidity...

...specifically a locking up | of the body's joints...

...is a known symptom of psychosis?

No. I haven't studied these things.

Have you ever visited | an insane asylum...

...or a hospital for the mentally ill?

Once. My aunt was in one | before she died.

Really? So there's a history | of mental illness in your family?

I suppose.

Sir, if you saw someone | eating insects...

...on a street corner, would you say | that that person is mentally ill?

- Probably, yes. | - So can you say with confidence...

...that the behavior you saw | in your daughter's bedroom...

...could not be the behavior of | someone suffering from psychosis?

I don't know. She never had | any problems like that before.

It just didn't feel that way to me | or to Father Moore.

- And you trusted him, right? | - Yes.

He is our parish priest.

Fair enough. And after that night, | would you say that you...

...put your daughter entirely | in Father Moore's care?

Yes. We had done all we could.

We said she was in his hands now...

...body and soul.

Thank you. No further questions, | Your Honor.

Thank you, Mr. Rose. | You may step down.

The defense calls Dr. Sadira Adani.

I am currently a professor | of anthropology and psychiatry...

...at Northwestern University.

Where did you receive | your education?

At Yale, and then at Cambridge.

And what is your specific area | of expertise?

I study the spiritual experiences | of people in various cultures...

...and the physiological | and psychological changes...

...they undergo | during these experiences.

Would it be accurate to say that you | specialize in the study of possession?

Yes. "Possession" is one term | for a basic human experience...

...reported by a great number | of people all around the world.

In my fieldwork, I've seen | many people who experienced...

...a sense of being invaded by | an entity from the supernatural realm.

Why do you think | Emily was invaded?

Why did this possession | happen to her?

Based on my study of the case file...

...I believe that Emily Rose | was a hypersensitive.

A person with | an unusual connection...

...to what Carlos Castaneda called | "the separate reality."

Hypersensitives are born | different from everyone else.

They can have visions of the future, | or see the dead...

...and sometimes be | uniquely susceptible...

...to invasion by an entity | that is alien to them.

Objection.

On what grounds?

How about silliness, Your Honor?

A young girl | suffered terribly and died.

Do we have to subject her illness | to this pseudoscientific analysis?

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