CaptainHowdy.com The #1 Exorcist Fansite Since 1999
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Of all the things that happen in The Exorcist, and of things I thoroughly enjoy, my favorite scene remains the conversation in the kitchen between Chris and Lt. Kinderman. The way the camera slowly closes in on them both while Kinderman is pressing, and the way it pulls aback when he finally lets up… it’s a wonderfully natural moment perfectly performed and perfectly directed.
As with all of you, EVERY scene is a good scene in this film. However, my all-time favorite part in the movie is when Father Karras thinks he’s outwitted Regan, and then gets a facefull of green bile instead. The last few seconds, with her glaring at him with all “that” gets me every time.
Of all scenes, the one Cap wrote about is my favorite for all the same reasons. It is truly an intimate moment played out by superb actors and directed by a brilliant director who draws us into the scene about the red flag for Chris that Regan killed Burke.
Ditto what Cap said. Without saying anything you know that Chris realizes half way through that she is being completely interrogated and that her daughter has commited murder. She also knows she better give the best acting performance of her career or she will tip her hand to Kinderman…..
F’ng brilliant!
Now that I think about it, I wrote about this same scene in some other post on here. I like your take on how the scene is portrayed when you view it etrigan. That means the scene says different things to different people. And, yes, F’ng brilliant!
What is good about that scene is that you don’t know if Chris or Kinderman have figured out that Regan is the killer, but the audience does.
Exactly. There’s a part in the scene where Chris is facing away from Kinderman and she lets it go for a second, then she goes back and makes it through the rest of the questioning.
That scene is so subtle it may have taken a few (or maybe 50 or so!)viewings for me to catch it.
I just watched the scene again (for the 1000th time). ? Kinderman proposes that a very powerful man killed Burke first and then pushed him out of Regan’s window. Kinderman points out that Regan was the only one in the room. There are two important points that Blatty/Friedkin lets us in on: 1. Kinderman has already seen Karl on two occasions (at the entrance, and then again when Karl asks Chris, “Will there be anything else, Madame?” Kinderman can positively eliminate Karl as the powerful man because of his age and physical traits. 2. Regan was the only in the room when Burke was pushed from the window and she has already been eliminated because of her physical aspects. Kinderman knows nothing about Regan’s “illness” or strength when the demon takes over.
Chris’ red flag is right after Kinderman’s questioning about visitors between the time Ms. Spencer left and the time Chris returned home. After Kinderman has made all his points, hunches, and opinions, Chris scratches her head and says, “Judas Priest, just a second.” This is the great build up to Chris’ red flag that Regan killed Burke. IMHO, Chris uses her acting talents to hide the fact that she knows Regan did it while following Kinderman’s insights into the fact that he believes a powerful man did the killing.
Also, I really like this scene because it uses the tactics the Roman Polanski did in Rosemary’s Baby by shooting an entire scene from beginning to end with only one camera … very real and subtle.
Towards the end, after Karras has plunged thru’ the window and mother & daughter are reunited, Kinderman enters and surveys the room. After the unbelievable tension which preceeded this scene, this moment serves as such a release! It’s as effective a moment as any of the horrific elements & realy drives home the fact that it is the emotional involvements of the charactors which drive this perfect story.
To me this is one the greatest climactic scenes, kokumo. It is the climax to end all climaxes for a horror/drama film of it’s type. Of course, I can’t compare any other film to The Exorcist simply because of its uniqueness.
I enjoy the fact that Friedkin leaves us at this particular scene to think about how Kinderman was going to handle the explanation of the supernatural to his precinct. Would he choose a concrete-thinking approach or choose to be abstract in his paperwork? We don’t know, and I enjoy this ending.
It is for this particular reason that I believe TVYN is most faulty by connecting Fr. Dyer and Lt. Kinderman together to end the film. The intention may have been to play up a very vague continuity of the past relationship between Karras and Kinderman. However, Friedkin was insightful to end the film as he did in the original with Fr. Dyer looking down the steps leading to M Street where his colleague/friend plummeted to his death in order to save the child he just bid a farewell to seconds earlier.
Another elementI liked about that particular scene was that the first time I saw it,(I hadt read the book yet) when Kinderman walks in the room and Regan is in the corner crying, I wasnt 100% sure it wasnt a trick. Ellen Burstyn’s hesitant, questioning initial entry into the room beautifully mirrored my own fear-is this REALLY over?
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