The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Character mistake: When Ethan Thomas objects to Dr. Adanie's testimony, he does so on the grounds of "silliness." Silliness does not fall under the federal rules of evidence, and any lawyer worth their salt would know this.

Phaneron ★

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Suggested correction: During the Manson trial in real life, the prosecutor objected to a completely pointless question the defense asked a witness on the grounds of being ridiculous. The judge agreed and sustained the question. In his book Helter Skelter, Bugliosi even acknowledges there's no such rule, but the judge sided with him. The prosecutor in this film is grasping at straws, since nothing that would fall under the rules of evidence would apply to his objecting to her scientific testimony.

dewinela

Not true, he can object on the grounds of relevance. The YouTube channel Legal Eagle, which is run by an actual lawyer, even stated so. The same logic applies to the Manson trial. If a lawyer feels that a question is ridiculous, they can object on the grounds of relevance.

Phaneron ★

In a case involving demonic possession as a central aspect of the defense, there's no way relevance could be grounds to object to her testimony. Her testimony dealt with possession from a scientific point of view, but he objected because it was for the defense. The judge in the film even allowed her testimony stating that they'd heard a lot of scientific evidence supporting the prosecution's case and it was fair to hear from an 'exorcism expert'.

dewinela

As for the Manson case, try reading the book written by the prosecutor. It even states in the transcripts that he objected on the grounds of a question being ridiculous (even if, in the end, it would actually be relevance).

dewinela

Just because a lawyer in real life was able to successfully object on the grounds of ridiculousness doesn't mean it would suddenly become a good practice. That would be like saying basketball players should just wantonly heave half court shots, because sometimes they go in. The premise of your suggested correction was also that the lawyer had no legal grounds to object on, and that is objectively false. As I mentioned, the lawyer behind the LegalEagle YouTube channel even said otherwise.

Phaneron ★

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Mistakes

Factual error: During the opening scene when the house is being shown, a nest hangs from the porch ceiling with live bees swarming around it. It is also snowing. The insects are honeybees, but the nest is a hornet nest. Honeybees don't make paper nests. Also, bees, hornets, and wasps are not active during the winter. (00:02:40)

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Quotes

Father Moore: Once you've looked into the darkness, I think you carry it with you for the rest of your life.

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Questions

Question: At the end of the movie, Emily is greeted by the Virgin Mary who gives Emily a choice. She can either ascend to heaven or remain on earth and become a martyr to prove that God and demons are real. Emily chooses to become a martyr and shortly after dies. How is her death supposed to prove that God and demons exist when Ethan came up with so many logical explanations for her demonic attacks? For that matter, how would she be able to tell people that God and demons are real if she isn't even alive?

Answer: You seem to have missed the point. It boils down to what Emily believed, not anything Ethan manages to explain away. In her written letter the priest reads in court she explains that she believes people would have to believe in God if she showed them the Devil. The logic goes like this: if someone sees or experiences something so horrible that they have to believe the Devil exists, then there has to be a God as well. It's about getting people to embrace faith, which was her ultimate goal. She wasn't concerned with anyone potentially finding evidence to the contrary. She believed that she had to suffer greatly and die in order to achieve the goal, which is the essence of martyrdom. Whether she suffered from mental illness or demonic possession is irrelevant in the end. Emily believed that she did her part to prove God exists when she died and that was all that mattered to her. As for her telling anyone despite her being dead, well, there were witnesses to the attacks and her story was national news. Her story would live on after her death, so in a way she'd be telling anyone that looks into her story.

dewinela

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