As Good As It Gets

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 2015)

William Friedklin directed this film in the early 1970's, and it was one of my earliest exposures to classic cinema. There is something that permeates the film from its early frames. It's cinemas at its purest form, with images telling and enhancing the story. If one can believe it, emotions are perfectly conveyed, and one is both a witness and a participant, almost being able to feel the protagonists' feelings, the temperature in the room, the psychological disturbances in the universe.
This is a movie that couldn't have been made by another director. He connected to the material, whatever personal background or experiences helped him, we might never really understand, but in his hands, he fashioned an adaptation of a tale that was already controversial and which dealt with the primal forces of almost any culture. He gathered a remarkable team of actors and technicians, giving enough weight to every element, respecting his material, and allowing us to become an integral part of its success.
As almost everyone knows the basic story of possession of a young girl in Washington, DC and how the event is just a step which leads to the reunion of two opposing forces, a priest and an old demon. In the middle is an innocent girl who opens a pathway to a dark world that nobody really understand but few want to be exposed to. It is complex, mysterious, challenging, threatening, stifling, devastating, and pretty scary. It feeds on our fears and anxiety, and it won't stop until it draws you into its realm.
Faith is at its core, with the old guard, still strong enough to fight the powers of evil but losing the battle because of physical limitations. The new generation is also in shaky ground because faith is a commodity that is hard to maintain, to she must and modern life is corroding its foundations. A priest wants to believe, but he's having second thoughts and feels helpless as he can't assist himself and the ones he loves.
The film builds its momentum as one's able to see how the evil forces will use every possible weakness to conquer the other. It's full of dark moments which involve theology, history, mysticism, faith, and the arrival of invasive technology. In one of its most upsetting moments we forget the old horror as the young protagonist must be subjected to a new kind of torture, and we can't help but recoil as we're witnesses to what she must endure while people find a possible solution to what is ruining her life.
In the end, the film is as perfect as it gets, with Blair and Burstyn doing superb work as the mother and daughter in the center of the storm. Von Sydow and Karras also shine as the warriors who attempt to restore normalcy to the poor young girl's world. What makes the film so good is how it has kept so well, 40 years after its original release because of its solid writing, acting, and the technical achievements of a team that brought to life a text that was a force of its own.