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Doubt
John Patrick Shanley directs his own script, based on his Pulitzer prize winning play about the rivalry between a nun and a priest at a Catholic school in the Bronx in 1964.
Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) grows suspicious of Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) when he takes a special interest in the life of a young black student. He denies her charges of molestation. A young nun, Sister James (Amy Adams), finds herself torn between the two authority figures, unsure of who to trust.
Starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis, Lloyd Clay Brown, Joseph Foster
Directed by John Patrick Shanley ('Joe Versus the Volcano')
Written by John Patrick Shanley (based on his play)
Festivals & Awards Best Performance by a Lead Actress (Streep) - Screen Actors Guild 2009.
Drama, Adaptation | 1hr 54mins | Rated (M) | Origin: USA | Official Site »
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Flicks review
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3
Doubt is a film in which intellectual thought is prized over cinematic satisfaction. Its origin as a stage play is evident - few characters, limited locations, brevity and lots of talking. While this sort of translation can often make for involving drama, in this case the adaptation for the screen feels like something of a neutered theoretical exercise.
Meryl Streep’s scenery chewing is certainly memorable, at a stark contrast to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s more gentle work, but to praise a film solely for its performances is worthless when the end product doesn’t convince. That’s not to say that Doubt isn’t without a sense of polished professionalism. It looks good, with cinematographer Roger Deakins favouring autumnal browns and blacks. The setting of the church and school is barren, devoid of comfort or personality – just as it should be. And the film never extends the story for longer than it can sustain, wrapping up with a surprisingly satisfying and memorable conclusion.
So, as a study of guilt, blame and finger pointing, Doubt stirs up a few interesting ideas. But this remains a rather broad cinematic rendering of a subtle thought-provoking concept, and as such is more likely to bore than intrigue. It should have remained on the stage.
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The people's reviews
6 reviews
Press Reviews
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Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Doubt has exact and merciless writing, powerful performances and timeless relevance. It causes us to start thinking with the first shot, and we never stop. Think how rare that is in a film.
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FilmThreat.com [USA]
Exhausting yet invigorating, it's a drama one witnesses more than just views.
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Hollywood Reporter
The film is nothing if not provocative.
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Los Angeles Times
Shanley seems to have lost a certain amount of faith in what he'd written. As a director he's ended up pushing the drama harder than he needs to. He hasn't done anything fatal, but he has tampered with and hampered it.
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NZ Herald [Peter Calder]
3
It's a triumph of production design - you can practically smell the floor polish and the starch on the linen - and Boston in winter never looked so bleak and cheerless. But in the end this is a film for people who like plays - in particular if they pronounce "theatre" as three syllables.
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Village Voice [USA]
Doubt is only marginally, and tendentiously, about moral uncertainty--it's more about the sins of a nosy old biddy who pulls out all the stops when going through the official channels of a male-dominated Catholic Church would get her nowhere.
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