Doubt: Movie Review

July 20, 2009 at 2:49 PM (Reviews)

Release Date: December 25, 2008
Genre: Drama/Mystery
Plot: Set in 1964, Doubt centers on a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him of abusing a black student. He denies the charges, and much of the play’s quick-fire dialogue tackles themes of religion, morality, and authority.

*Spoiler Alert: Skip the two paragraphs in italics if you don’t want any spoilers*

You know an actor is great when at some point in the movie you want to punch them in the face.  Sister Aloysius, played by Meryl Streep,  is the principal of a catholic school and she runs it with an iron fist.  Capable of making young boys cower in fear with just one look, Sister Aloysius patrols the halls of the school like a nazi in a Jewish ghetto. Okay maybe that’s a bit much but you get my drift.  Meryl Streep has a way of inhabiting (no pun intended…get it, habit, nun…nevermind) her onscreen personas so vividly that you really feel that she is a nasty, miserable nun with nothing better to do than bark out commands.  By the end of the movie, I said to myself that if someone doesn’t smack her across the face, I’M going to do it.

No one is safe from Sister Aloysius but it is Father Flynn, played superbly by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, that receives the bulk of her venom.  A new transfer from another school, Father Flynn’s compassion and lightheartedness is a stark contrast to her militaristic command of the students.  All it takes is one sermon on the topic of doubt for Sister Aloysius to begin her campaign against him.  ”Is Father Flynn in doubt? Is he concerned that someone else is in doubt?” she quips to the other nuns while instructing them to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

The theme of the movie is summed up in a quote from Father Flynn’s sermon “Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty.”  The movie is focused around the themes of suspicion, certainty and doubt.  All of which i felT at some point while watching this film.

As you witness the seemingly unfounded assault on the character of Father Flynn, you quickly begin to sympathize with him.  After all its much easier to hate Sister Aloyisus when she says things like “When you take a step to address wrongdoing, you are taking a step away from God, but in his service.”  Later as Father Flynn confronts the situation and asks her why she is so determined that he has done something wrong he asks her “Where is your compassion?”  She responds “Nowhere you can get at it.”

You almost forget that he has admitted that he has commited a mortal sin in the final confrontation between him and Sister Aloysius.  I know I did at first.  It was almost like I supressed it.  I was so angry that Sister Aloysisus was ready to do anything, including lying and manipulation, to prove this man guilty, that it wasn’t until after the movie finished and I thought about it again.  What was his mortal sin?  Sister Aloyisus was so certain of what she thinks, that she never gives him the opportunity to say what he was going to say.  Even if he didn’t do anything to this boy, did he do something terribly wrong in the last two schools from which he transferred in the past 5 years?

By the end of the movie you see Sister Aloysius in tears admitting that she has doubts.  She was able to get her way, but now she cannot sleep because of her doubt.  But I was left with doubts as well.  I was so determined throughout the movie that Father Flynn was innocent.  However, I thought back to the scene where he began to confess what he had done and he was obviously distraught.  Did he commit some horrible sin that could have affected his behavior in this school?  Was he about to confess to something with the young black student, who we find from his mother was gay?  It really was a genius way to end the movie.

The sermons throughout the film by Father Flynn were on point.  The story about gossip and stabbing the pillow was especially powerful.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman really captures the heart of a loving, compassionate priest that loved his congregation and students.  He has to be one of the most underrated actors of our time.  His roles in Capote and Synectoche, New York were absolutely stellar and this performance really solidified him in my mind.  He can play any role and make you feel in 2 hours that you understand everything about the essence of the character the he plays.

Overall, this movie was great.  I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.  As a Christian, I didn’t find anything which offended me (but then I’m not easily offended).  If you haven’t seen it, check it out.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Father Flynn

Sister Aloysius