The problem with The Exorcism of Emily Rose is that it doesn't know if it wants to be a courtroom drama, a thriller or a horror film. It tries to be all three and ends up being neither.
There is no drama because you know from the start what is going to happen. There are moments of horror, but they are so spread out that they lose their impact very quickly. The focus on the lawyers marginalises the most important characters, which should be the girl's family and the priest.
The outcome of the trial is pretty much irrelevant. In the real-life case of Anneliese Michel on which the film is based it was the parents and two priests who were prosecuted. In the film it was just the priest: why? I didn't understand the premise of him being solely culpable for the girl's death.
The real-life story here has huge potential, but I think the film fails to tell it well.
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