When I think of The Exorcist, like anybody else, I think of the girl's head spinning around, green vomit, and the most disturbing uses of a crucifix that you'll ever care to imagine. However, now that I'm a little older, I can get past some of the more gory, shock-value type stuff to the subtext of the story...and it's goooooood.
Watch the movie and pay attention to the young priest, Damien Karras, and his story. Again, you tend to get caught up in Reagan's story, after all she is the one being possessed, but the heart of the story belongs to Karras. He is struggling with his faith and haunted by the fact that he must put his mother into a home, against her wishes. The demon uses this to taunt him during the exorcism, but he prevails, by taking the demon into his own body and jumping, headfirst, out the window to his death.
His friend, another priest, comes and reads him his last rites. It's a heavy scene, but a scene after all this when Reagan, upon seeing the priest's collar as they say goodbye, gives him a hug, is even heavier. It's not only touching, but also seems to add to the feeling that this was just a small part of the never-ending battle between good and evil.
The older priest, with all his worldly knowledge, couldn't handle the exorcism, but this local priest, struggling with his faith, endures and prevails. It's also telling that he's an ex-boxer, born, perhaps, for this fight.
Heavy stuff...revisit this and pay attention...it's better than you think.
The Ending:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XcX5dG4eJ4
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