Doubt

DOUBT is more purgatorial than heavenly. Director, John Patrick Shanley’s unique understanding of the material is evident in every impeccable performance given but his lack of experience as a filmmaker (his only previous experience directing was in 1990 with JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO) ultimately leaves the film feeling flatter than one would hope, especially when the material calls for a hellishly passionate fire.

John Patrick Shanley directs the screen version of his hit Broadway play with great gusto. Set in the St Nicholas Church School, in the Bronx, in 1964, it is the tale of an epic battle between a progressive priest, Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and the stern and reactionary Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep). She is convinced that Flynn has been having improper relations with a young black student and is determined to bring him down. In between the two is the good-hearted Sister James (Amy Adams). The film is all about the virtue of doubt over the destructive capacity of certainty (interesting that Shanley has little doubt about the value of doubt), and it doesn’t quite work, because there’s little reason to question Flynn’s claim to be innocent. Brilliant performances from Streep and Hoffman, however, make it well worth seeing.