Doubt (Movie Review)

Movie Review
Doubt
Dir. John Patrick Shanley
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams
Runtime: 1:44

There have been two large revolutions in the North American Catholic Church in the last fifty years. The first happening fifty years ago was the end of the church’s dominance in rural Quebec society and bringing the province out of what same called the dark ages “la grande noirceur”. The other one occurred only a couple of years ago in the United States. Many people left the church after there was widespread allegations of priest having inappropriate contact with young boys. John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt looks at both issues but focuses more on the American issue of child molestation but creates a debate whether a traditional, disciplined church or a progressive, contemporary church is better for Catholicism.

Father Brendan Flynn (Hoffman) is a charismatic priest at a parish in 1960s New York. Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Streep) is the a traditional-based nun who is the headmistress at the conjoining school. They immediately butt heads as Father Flynn feels the church needs to be more open to people and the community; to be part of the family. Sister Beauvier feels that a disciplined approach has worked for centuries and there is no reason to change the direction of the church. There are seeds of mistrust sown everywhere as Sister Beauvier is chomping at the bit to find even the slightest opportunity to get rid of the popular priest.

She gets such an opportunity when she gets information from Sister James (Adams) that Father Flynn has been protecting a boy (the only African American in the school) from being bullied from others. Her suspicion is raised when Father Flynn calls for the boy for a private meeting in the middle of class and when the boy returns, he’s despondent and has alcohol on his breath. That is all Sister Beauvier needs to hear and she begins a secret witchhunt against Flynn. She feels she needs to keep her investigation quiet because she acknowledges that the church is a boys club and that she has very little recourse to take as a nun. She calls for a meeting with Father Flynn who denies everything, demanding proof. The only thing Sister Beauvier can provide him is the conviction in her heart that he did something wrong. She is shocked during a meeting with the boy’s mother when she concludes that the mother may know something but is hiding it; not to protect the priest but to protect her son who is being protected by the priest.

The story is very intelligent as it has two strongly opposing sides. Father Flynn is someone who is well liked who denies any wrongdoing while Sister Beauvier is someone who is feared more than liked and feels that Flynn is rotten to the core. The good thing about the movie is that you don’t know who is right. You can have a feeling that one may be right but the film leaves doubt over any certainty. There is no factual proof given that Father Flynn had done exactly what he’s being accused of but their is no real evidence other than his word that he’s completely innocent. The doubt for the viewer makes the story not only entertaining but a topic of discussion well after the rolling of the end credits.

There are a couple of little things that were woven into the script that the average movie watcher will not understand or it will go over their head. Little things like the windows being constantly open and the light bulb constantly burning out are great for film students to analyze but if they don’t add anything to the story, it makes no sense to include it in the final cut of the film. The story is so good that there isn’t a need for constant imagery to enhance the film. It just gets lost along the way.

The obvious thoughts about the acting on paper would be that it should have stellar. The three main characters are consider three of the best actors and actresses in the Hollywood system but it really isn’t the case in this film. The sotry outshines the acting. Streep seems to be overacting, Hoffman seems to be phoning it in, and Adams seems to be trying to hard. All three actors have had better performances within the last twelve months. It’s unfortunate the acting couldn’t match the story as it holds the film back from being one of the best of the year. It is still a strong movie and is an easy recommendation to go see. 

☆☆☆☆