‘Leap Of Faith’ Review: A Documentary That Proves There Are Still New Things To Learn About ‘The Exorcist’ [Sitges 2019]
It’s been 46 years since its release, andThe Exorcistis as fascinating as when it first came out in theaters. You’d think it’s not a film that would still invite analysis after so many years, but ask anyone about what they think the film is ultimately about or what that final scene means, and you’re bound to start a lengthy conversation.Alexandre O. Philipperecognizes this. The Swiss filmmaker, who previously tackled fandom andStar WarsinThe People vs. George Lucas, ingeniously deconstructed thePsychoshower scene in78/52,and most recently dissected every aspect ofAlieninMemory: The Origins of Alien, now takes a simpler yet equally effective approach to his subject in his latest documentary,Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist.The subject, of course, isWilliam Friedkin, probably the best and utmost authority on the film because he directed it. Though obviously limited cinematically due to the lack of dozens of interviewees or angles from which to dissect the film, Friedkin’s involvement and his sheer charisma turnsLeap of Faithinto a fascinating and entertaining exploration of filmmaking, faith, and the improbability of getting a film made.As Friedking himself puts it, what makesThe Exorcistimmediately special is that a movie about demonic possession hadn’t been done before, especially in such a grounded way. Indeed, until the last third of the film, we don’t really know what is happening to this 12-year-old girl. Friedkin then talks a lot about Carl Theodor Dreyer’s ambiguous religious drama,Ordet, which was the main inspiration forThe Exorcist.Philippe remains off-camera throughout the film, shooting his interviewee over the span of six days in a classical talking-head style and cutting that interview to a lean two hours that never feel boring. With a fireplace in the background, the film is content with letting Friedkin discuss the making of his iconic film, and it works, in part thanks to the somber chamber-orchestral score that wraps the film. Philippe knows not to match Friedkin’s outspoken and charismatic personality by talking to the camera, but instead laces the film with humor via the editing, which creates witty illustrations of Friedkin’s narration with archival footage.As Friedkin himself says at one point in the film – recalling his own experience making documentaries – the direction of a documentary is dictated by the unpredictable words of its interviewees. Indeed,Leap of Faithdoesn’t have a traditional structure per se, but it isn’t a detriment. We ease into the main discussion about the making ofThe Exorcistwith anecdotes about how seeing Orson Welles' movies in the theater made Friedkin interested in making movies, to the nature of faith. While some viewers may be turned off by the seemingly lack of structure, when the interviewee is William Friedkin, the burden seems light enough. Philippe masterfully guides and edits the interview with grace while also investigating the different topics with a fine-tooth comb. This allows the film to inform those who haven’t read every book on the making of the film while also providing delightful entertainment to those who are familiar with every aspect of howThe Exorcistwas made.One of the biggest pleasures ofLeap of Faithis that we’re never quite sure how seriously the filmmaker takes himself. The documentary doesn’t really offer much in terms of new information that a diehard fan ofThe Exorcistwouldn’t already know, and Philippe knows this. Instead, the documentary is more interested inhowFriedkin tells his story than what he’s saying. By only having a single interviewee, Philippe allows Friedkin to write his own legend as well as add to the mythology of the film, and allows the audience to decide how much we want to believe Friedkin’s suggestion thatThe Exorcistwas the product of some divine intervention that was set on having this film get made.That being said, there are plenty of fascinating stories about the making ofThe Exorcistthat show Friedkin is as good a storytelling in front of the camera as he is behind it. Tales of celebrated character actress Mercedes McCambridge’s painful process to achieve the haunting voice of the demon Pazuzu, how Friedkin fired guns on set to provoke reactions from the actors, or his attempt to have Bernard Herrmann provide the film’s music score.Certainly, the biggest new piece of information pertains the relationship between Friedkin andTheExorcistauthor William Peter Blatty. From Friedkin discarding Blatty’s initial draft for the film’s script saying it was “a travesty”, to the author’s desperation to being part of the film – to the point of offering his entire cut of the film’s profits to play the role of Father Damien Karras, who was initially going to be performed by Stacy Keach before going to playwright Jason Miller. Of course, we can’t know for sure as the late Blatty isn’t on hand to verify any of this, but it nevertheless makes for a compelling companion to Friedkin’s film. Philippe, by having a single interview throughout the entirety of the film, allows Friedkin to present himself as a three-dimensional character who knows his own flaws. Friedkin may think highly of himself at times (arguably deservedly so), but he isn’t above admitting his limitations, as he does when discussing the final scene ofThe Exorcist,and Friedkin’s lack of understanding what happened in the scene.Leap of Faithshows that you don’t need much in the way of graphics or a huge number of interviews to make a compelling documentary. Alexandre O. Philippe continues to impress by challenging what we knew of making-of documentaries with a poetic and lyrical film that’s as entertaining as its subject is eloquent, and a fascinating and thought-provoking as the horror classic that the documentary explores./Film Rating: 8 out of 10
