John Patrick Shanley must be very proud of the superb writing and directing of his adaptation of the Broadway play Doubt. In his first direction since his debut over 18 years ago in the mediocre comedy Joe versus the Volcano starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, Mr. Shanley has captivated Oscar worthy performances by both Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
The stage is set in the fall of 1964 at the St. Nicholas Catholic School in the Bronx borough of New York City. Winter and Christmas are rapidly approaching and an alluring Father Brendan Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is acknowledged by both his students and congregation as a charismatic, well-received community leader. Father Flynn has a seemingly appealing agenda: to modernize some of the school’s strict customs and policies in concurrence with the changing of the culture. In many ways, there is truth and luster to the ideals behind his tolerance and understanding with his congregation. He wishes to add a secular song such as It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas to the school Christmas play and takes the school’s first black student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster), under his wing.
Enter the stern, largely disliked and feared Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep), Principal of the school and protector as well as enforcer of the customs of old. A largely pessimistic character who believes that Frosty the Snowman is a pagan and barbaric rendition of the exploitation of witchcraft and magic as well as the opinion that ball-point pens promote laziness and will compromise; perhaps even destroy the penmanship of America. Sister Aloysius seems overbearing and a glimpse of her humanity can barely be seen even amongst her peers in the sisterhood.
It is brought to Sister Aloysius’ attention by a young Sister James (Amy Adams) that Father Flynn perhaps has been paying a little too much attention to Miller and even held private meetings with him during her history class.
The result is a clash of ideals and integrity leading to an inevitable showdown of what could either be an act of lunacy as Sister Aloysius seemingly crusades with a personal vendetta against Father Flynn that will stop at nothing short of his removal from the church or an act of courage as a Nun stands up to the leader of the community who has a terrible dark secret and is a metaphorical “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.
This film is both compelling and riveting as the audience becomes engaged and sways from believing and pulling for one cast member over the other and back again. The title of this movie fits the theme perfectly as both the audience of the film as well as the characters within it cannot be sure of anything with certainty. The cinematography and acting in this movie were stunning. Doubt is a roller coaster ride of heartfelt emotion and drama. Don’t be surprised if this movie is nominated for a plethora of awards this upcoming year.
