Few other actors have been able to mimic his sagacious sense for the sinister which, of course, is no more prominent than in his role as Hannibal Lecter in the classic, The Silence of the Lambs. This ground-breaking performance altered cinema by leaving audiences as defenseless as the lamb Clarice so desperately tries to save. Despite his distinguished dramatic acumen, this is what many moviegoers have craved for ever since, not matter what they say. There have been sightings in the multiple iterations of Lector and the underrated Wolfman, but Hopkins has never truly regained his frightening form. Now, his plan is to rite the ship and channel his evil side once again through a new tale of demons and exorcisms.
From director Mikael Håfström, The Rite follows the journey of former mortician Michael Kovack through the priesthood and his battle with faith. Played by newcomer Colin O'Donoghue, Michael finds himself on the verge of resigning from the order, but is persuaded to begin studying exorcism in Rome. This path leads him to the door of the rather unorthodox Father Trevant (Hopkins) who will soon change Michael and his vision of God.
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| Hopkins - looming large. |
O’Donoghue does try his best as evident from the young actor’s seriously strained performance. In his defense, the maddeningly mediocre narrative and trifling dialogue do him no favors at all. Couple that with being opposite Sir Hopkins and it leads him down a perilous path.
Then there is Hopkins who happens to get in a handful of decent scenes, but proves to be a major letdown. Not only does this turn seem more and more like a paycheck to the grand master, it occasionally teeters on embarrassment as Hopkins unleashes some antics that leave the audience wondering if a possession has not in fact occurred. No, this is not a good thing. So as this tepid escapade rolls though cinemas and soon to video, audiences should remember that they always have the rite of first refusal.