Synopsis:
Set in 1964, Doubt centers on a nun who
confronts a priest after suspecting him abusing
a black student. He denies the charges, and much
of the play's quick-fire dialogue tackles themes
of religion, morality and authority.
The Freak's
Rating: A : When I mentioned to my wife
that I'd be seeing a triple feature on New
Year's Day and mentioned the three possibilities
(Doubt, Valkyrie and Marley & Me) her choice was
easy. After learning the cast of Doubt,
she said "how could that not be great?".
She was right.
Doubt
should be purchased by every acting school and
used as reference for advanced level courses.
All three performances of the primary roles in
this film are phenomenal. Amy Adams has
come so far since Junebug
and I feel like a proud papa for some reason.
Enjoying all of her performances since,
including Enchanted and Miss Pettigrew Lives For
A Day, I've truly become an enormous fan of her
work. Working here alongside legend of the
screen Meryl Streep and future legend Philip
Seymour Hoffman, Adams shines as Sister James.
Streep is wonderfull as Sister Aloysius Beauvier,
an uptight nun hell-bent on keeping her Catholic
school from socializing to the modern world in
any way. Hoffman is convincing as Father
Brendan Flynn, a priest whose ties to the school
boys are that which is under suspicion.
It is
amazing that the only previous work that
director John Patrick Shanley has had as a
director is the 1990 bomb Joe Vs The Volcano.
Shanley does a nice job of blending together an
intriguing story with top notch acting.
The pacing is well crafted and the film flows
nicely from start to finish. Costume/set
design and cinematography is nicely done as
well. Based upon an award-winning play,
Doubt's screenplay was beautifully converted,
allowing the film to stand on its own as a solid
work.
Doubt's subject matter doesn't lend itself to a
family outing, or even a
strictly-for-entertainment film. It is,
however, a wonderful story told by some of the
top actors of our time.
Jen's
Rating: B+ : Doubt is a great movie, it's
just not one I can imagine watching over and
over like other A movies. The acting is
fantastic! Loved everyone in it, you can't go
wrong with Meryl Streep of course and I'm
starting to think that about Amy Adams too.
Brian's Rating:
B+ : Like Jen, this does not quite make it
into the A category for me, although it was a
very well done movie. I completely agree with
Scott that the acting in this film is front and
center, and all of the roles are handled
extremely well. I do have to give a tip of my
hat to Streep as she pulls off many tension
filled moments beautifully.
I could tell this came from a play. It was
adapted well, but the dialog was philosophically
weighty. As in many stage plays of this ilk,
almost every other line of dialog has a double
meaning. Two-thirds of the way through the film
I remember thinking to myself, "all right,
enough already, ease up a bit so I can enjoy
this without having to pick out all these
metephors." I believe this to be one of the
main failings of adapted stage plays to screen
as there are so many more tools to tell a story
on screen, where as a play by necessity must
lean heavily on dialog. Translated to the
screen, it always seems a bit heavy handed to me
when clever edits, sets, and directing has the
opportunity to take some of the edge off the
dialog.
I had a discussion with my wife as to what this
movie was about. At its surface an overly
controlling nun suspects a priest in the 60's of
messing around with an alter boy. However, this
is not what the movie is about. In fact, you
leave the movie never actually knowing if he was
guilty of it or not. You could make an argument
either way. What the movie was actually about
was the tremendous gray zone that exists between
right and wrong due to us never really knowing
all the facts. It portrays the fine line
conflict between the pursuit of justice, and
witch-hunting. It shows how alternate motives
get in the way of true justice. Lastly, as
revealed in a scene between Hoffman and Adams,
it shines a light on the danger of using virtue
as an excuse to crush kindness.
All of these things are great to think about,
and I can see why this would make a great play.
It also made a good movie, but not one that is
entirely entertaining throughout.
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it yourself!
