The Rite
Short description
Michael Kovak is a young American who enters a seminary largely to escape his family's funeral business, and as ordination approaches he finds his faith too shaky to continue. A Vatican program sends him to Rome for a course on exorcism, where his skepticism about the practice puts him at odds with his instructors. He is assigned to Father Lucas Trevant, an experienced exorcist with an unconventional manner, and accompanies him on cases that gradually unsettle the student's rational assumptions. The film centres on the tension between Kovak's doubts and what he witnesses at Father Lucas's side.
Mikael Håfström directed, working from a screenplay by Michael Petroni. The film followed Håfström's 2010 release Shanghai and preceded Escape Plan in his filmography, sitting between the two in chronological order. Anthony Hopkins plays Father Lucas, with Colin O'Donoghue as Kovak, Alice Braga as Angeline, Rutger Hauer as Istvan Kovak, Ciarán Hinds as Father Xavier and Toby Jones as Father Matthew. It was made for 37 million US dollars and took about 96 million worldwide.
On IMDb it holds 6 out of 10 from roughly 106,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.1 out of 10 from a much smaller number of votes. A film critics' rating of 4.3 out of 10, drawn from 169 reviews, is clearly lower than the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Rutger Hauer’s character speaks Hungarian. His line can be translated as “My love, my flower, my happiness”.
- Before starting work on the film, director Mikael Håfström attended exorcism rituals. He was not allowed into the room itself, but was allowed to listen from behind a closed door.
- The inscription on the wall, “Fi sydd bia fe nawr”, is in Welsh and translates as “Now he is mine.” This same phrase is spoken by Father Lucas.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
