"That's it."
"Er, really? That's it?"
The Rite is rather like its lead character, 'doubter' Michael Kovak: handsome, earnest and a little dull. The team behind the movie has taken great pains to distance it from the elephant in the room - The Exorcist - and in spite of conventions of the demon-possession genre being present (impossibly flexible bodies, growling devil voices, etc), The Rite does take a more measured, less showy approach to the subject, 'inspired by real events'. Sound design and mise-en-scene are exemplary throughout - the movie is a beautiful visual and aural treat - and the deliberately slow pace gives the viewer ample opportunity to savour both. Colin O'Donoghue gives a well-controlled if often flat performance, with Anthony Hopkins, Rutger Hauer and Ciaran Hinds all providing suitable gravitas. By taking such a serious and sincere approach, the film feels too cautious, clinical and underwhelming overall to truly grip the viewer either on a visceral or intellectual level, which is a great shame, as there is much to admire in the craft of the movie.
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