
Although I'm an atheist, and was not Catholic before I rejected religion, I find the rigidity and ritual of Catholicism fascinating. I have no idea if Doubt gets the details right, but it works terrifically on screen. Doubt was originally a play written by John Patrick Shanley in 2004, which went on to win 4 Tony awards (with 4 other nominations) and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It deals with the uncertainty surrounding a priests association with a young boy at a Catholic school in 1964 New York City. The school's principle, Sister Aloysius, becomes convinced that Father Flynn has had an inappropriate relationship with the young boy, while Father Flynn maintains that his contact is strictly paternal, looking out for a lonely kid that needs a friend and a mentor. Caught in the middle of their struggle is Sister James, an innocent young nun teaching history at the school, whom Sister Aloysius had begun to take under her wing.
One of the most fascinating pieces of the writing is the subtle power struggle between Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius. As principle, Sister Aloysius is in charge of the school, its students, and its teachers. But as the priest of the church, Father Flynn outranks Sister Aloysius in all matters. A delightful subtlety we see is how both fight over who is sitting in the Principle's chair during meetings. Father Flynn seems to be a fun loving, friendly, and compassionate priest whom most of the kids like, while Sister Aloysius runs the school through fear, like she is the warden of this Catholic prison. Still, Sister Aloysius is not a one-sided caricature, she genuinely cares for the students and her fellow nuns, but something rubs her the wrong way about Father Flynn. Sister James is stuck in between the two, using the very effective advice that Sister Aloysius gives her about dealing with students, while also sharing Father Flynn's desire to bring the church into the new generation of America post Kennedy assassination. Father Flynn believes that Sister Aloysius is accusing him of these things (despite only circumstantial evidence) because of her dislike of his belief in change. She insists that "nothing has changed under the sun" when Father Flynn suggests that maybe they should include a secular song like "Frosty the Snowman" into the Christmas pageant because people have changed and want a friendlier, more relatable church.


Hoffman, Streep, Adams, and Davis are well worth the price of admission, and with the classy way that Shanley handles a tricky subject matter, there's not really anything to be put off by about the story. Doubt will certainly be on my final list of the best movies of 2008.
1 comment:
I just watched this movie and thought it was good, but I feel there were a few scenes that seemed like a filmed play. I don't think that is bad, and I'm not sure if the fact of me knowing it was a play that made it seem that way.
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