While I like to consider myself a fan of transgressive cinema, few films have had the profound effect on me that William Friedkin’s The Exorcist has. Maybe it’s the fact that I am fundamentally Christian in my beliefs, and that makes me predisposed to such things. But I’m not alone when I say that when it comes to films that tackle faith and demons, The Exorcist just has something in its very DNA that allows it to operates on an almost primal level. When I heard Alexandre O. Philippe was going to tackle the film, given his previous documentaries — Memory: The Origins of Alien, 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene, and The People vs. George Lucas — I was definitely looking forward to getting his take, which recently screened at Sundance.
First off, the film is less a standard documentary like Alexandre’s previous films. Leap is more of a longform conversational deep dive with the compelling Friedkin front and center dictating his account of how the project came to be, the casting, and shooting in a very intimate style. At 84 years old, and five decades after the fact, the director speaks like he just completed that project as he cites a painting he saw that inspired a scene, or an article in Life magazine that inspired a directing choice. As we go from the chain of experiences that led him to filmmaking, eventually to production on The Exorcist, Friedkin ponders the difference between fate or faith as he discusses how one event in his life inadvertently led to the next.
Only a director as razor sharp as Friedkin could pull something like this off. For 105 minutes I was transfixed as the director gives what amounts to a mini masterclass on the genre classic, touching on everything from film history to fine art, to illustrate his creative process. While the film does briefly dip into his other films — Cruising, The French Connection, and Sorcerer — the meat of the discussion always comes back to The Exorcist. Keeping the conversation very singular, he doesn’t rely too much on anecdotes about others, keeping the narrative on things he had direct control over, like the time he punched a priest to get the take he wanted. But, if you’re looking for a more of a sordid tell all, I would suggest checking out Peter Biskind’s excellent book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, since the perspective here is kept very above the belt.
Friedkin is just was so damn insightful here. I would love to see two more of these conversations on Cruising and Sorcerer, two other films that easily have enough to back story to fill another three to four more hours. Leap of Faith treats cinephiles to a rare peek behind the curtain with a master of cinema who isn’t afraid to admit to the occasional happy accident, along with the reasons behind his more intentional choices. Throughout the discussion Friedkin keeps dwelling on the themes of fate and faith, with time and distance affording the director a perspective rarely captured in a doc such as this. Not influenced by ego or career, Friedkin is sincere and matter of fact as he gives the definitive oral history of one of the scariest films ever made.
