Director: John Patrick Shanley
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep & Amy Adams
A very strong drama that succeeds due to the impressive performances of its three lead actors and in its ability to do just what the title suggests and plant doubt, doubt over the accused’s innocence and doubt over the accuser’s righteousness.
Based on his own stage play, John Patrick Shanley brings his story of how doubt and scandal can affect the appearance and appropriateness of a priest’s relationship with a young boy. Deriving its drama and tension from real scandals with frequent instances of molestation between priests and young boys in the church, Doubt begs the question whether any relationship between priest and child can be trusted or should be trusted. When a new priest, Father Flynn (Hoffman) is witnessed grabbing a boy’s hand in a courtyard to the boy’s disapproval and then later witnessed taking a private meeting with another boy who later re-appears emotionally distraught, questions are raised as to whether Father Flynn is acting appropriately with these children or whether, in spite of his warm and friendly demeanor, he could be a predator. Having already decided what the truth is, despite no actual evidence, Sister Aloysius (Streep) takes it upon herself to challenge Flynn and the priesthood and force a confession and resignation from Father Flynn with Flynn protesting innocence throughout though holding back information of his own.
With a third character, the young and innocent Sister James (Adams), caught in the middle between Flynn and Aloysius, the audience, like Sister James, are the ones left with the questions over whether Flynn is innocent and being unfairly persecuted by Aloysius due to differences in their attitudes or whether Aloysius, in spite of her attitude and cruel manner, is right and Flynn is guilty. Doubt asks whether real evidence is needed if your feeling are certain, Doubt asks whether you choose to side with or against someone because you like or dislike them or whether it is based on looking at the evidence, Doubt asks whether you can be so certain on the truth if everyone is against you. Doubt asks a lot of difficult questions and, fortunately, leaves the audience to answer them and ponder upon them long after the film has ended. Could Flynn be innocent? And, if so, why is holding some information back that could exonerate himself? If he is guilty, why does it sometimes feel wrong to root for Aloysius when her conviction is based on little evidence while her methods to get a confession are so cruel and unlikable?
The performances in Doubt are also excellent and add to the overall effect of the story. Hoffman portrays Flynn as a very warm and friendly individual and depending on your perspective, could be interpreted as all the evidence you need to exonerate him or could also be seen as merely a guise to protect himself and his actions to others. Streep is even better as Aloysius whose cold cruelty, supported by her religious conviction that she is right makes her difficult to root for even if you suspect her to be right to pursue Father Flynn and Amy Adams as the innocent and kind Sister James who has doubts about both Flynn and Aloysius but is also swayed by their personality speaks out to the audience as many should share her uncertainty. Individually all three are strong but together, especially in scenes shared between Hoffman and Streep, the performances and scenes are electrifying and full of tension.
Overall, while the ending remains open and evidence planted to point in either direction, Doubt certainly impresses and leaves the audience to ponder important questions. Whether you are left uncertain over who was right or wrong or whether you come away convinced on what the truth is, Doubt leaves you to ask yourself why you feel the way you do about its characters and their actions. It leaves doubt.
Rating: 4/5
