The Exorcism of Emily Rose

A Catholic Priest (Tom Wilkinson) is on trial for homicidal negligence after performing a failed exorcism on Emily Rose, devout college girl (Jennifer Carpenter) now dead from assorted wounds and malnutrition. Laura Linney plays Erin Bruner, the priest's defense lawyer, and Campbell Scott plays the chief prosecutor, who argues persuasively that Emily was likely suffering from psychotic epilepsy and could have been saved with hospitalization and medicine. The demonic possession unfolds in a series of spine-tingling flashbacks and as it does so, the initially doubtful Erin is visited by evil forces and her own soul seems to be at stake. More than a criminal negligence case, the trial becomes about the importance of recognizing the limits of rationality and the possibility of a world beyond the visible. (official distributor synopsis)