A Man Undone: Jason Miller in "The Exorcist" (1973)

Jason Miller was nominated as Best Supporting Actor in "The Exorcist" despite being the central character of the story arc.

Sitting out on my deck this morning, enjoying my coffee and cigarette, I pondered on  the nature of good and evil.  Some law of physics states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and so for there to be a sense of good in the world, there must also be a sense of evil.  Naturally, this thought process led to consideration of William Friedkin's 1973 film "The Exorcist", which I've always considered one of the greatest horror films of all time.

But my thoughts were not neccesarily on the horror aspects of the film, but rather the internal struggles that ordinary people often find themselves in.  The idea of demonic posession is horrifying, yes, but outside the realm of daily life (for most of us anyway), whereas the idea of a spiritual or internal crisis is something that anyone can face at any time or place.  In this sense, the focus of "The Exorcist" moves away from the gruesome experiences of Regan McNeil and her mother Chris, but to the battle that Father Damian Karras finds himself in.  Yes, he is battling Satan, in the person of a young girl, but he's also battling himself.  The struggle inside this man (he is both priest and psychiatrist, thus a man of faith and of science) is the more disturbing one. 

Any film fan is familiar with the story: actress Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn) is living in Georgetown while filming a movie, when her young daughter Regan begins acting strangely.  Chris consults physicians and psychiatrists, subjects Regan to a number of painful medical procedures, and dissolves into a mass of nerves and worry.  Burstyn was one of the most prominent actresses of the early 1970's, and her performance helps to ground the shocker in some form of reality.  Linda Blair's performance as Regan owes most of it's effect to the groundbreaking special effects and the vocal effects of veteran actress Mercedes McCambridge.  Max Von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, and Kitty Winn provide above average support, but the stellar acting in the film was done by Jason Miller (who deserved the Oscar) as Father Karras. 

Miller conveys Karras' interior crisis in stages: we see him stressed, caring for and worrying over his elderly mother, dealing with his changing feelings about his faith, relieving his stress in either running or drinking.  The body language says a great deal about the character here.  Miller has an  intensity that shows through, even when his shoulders seem to be sagging from the weight of the world.  His eyes are always inquisitive; he speaks assertively, yet it is to convince others that he is in better shape than he knows he really is.  The introductory scene between Miller and Blair show him with a spark of life, as Karras is being challenged.  Unlike other actors, who may have tried to make Karras a more dynamic character, Miller plays it level, never losing his realism among all the hocus pocus.  He gets emotional, loses control of his feelings, and is genuinely disturbed by some of the things he sees and hears during the harrowing exorcism scenes, but Miller's reactions are only the tip of the iceberg that he doesn't show us: what all of this is doing to the already warring halves of Damian Karras' self. 

There is debate over whether Karras' final act is one of salvation or of surrender.  More spiritual people than myself may consider that Karras becomes a Christ-like figure, in giving himself to the demon to save Regan.  I'm not so sure it's that cut and dried though.  His final explosion is provoked by his anger over the death of Father Merrin, which doesn't seem very saintly.  And, as a man of both faith and science, he has to realize what the outcome of his action will be.  That said, I believe Karras' final act to be the only choice he had: the culmination of the battle between the brain and the soul.  Whether it was win, lose, or draw is up to the individual viewer.  And that may just be the most truly horrifying thing about "The Exorcist".