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If there was ever a question as to whom the finest actress of the last few decades is; Meryl Streep has now removed all doubt. She continues her habit of taking a role that would be average for most and escalating it to new heights of emotion and character.  In her latest film, Doubt, Streep pulls the rug out from any other actress who thought they had a shot at this years Oscar award.  There simply is nun better. In fact this film should make award voters go back and revise their “thought I was finished” ballots. 

Doubt is written and directed by John Patrick Shanley who also wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same name. Shanley does a fabulous job of keeping it true to its stage roots without sacrificing the big screen necessities. The sounds and settings reflect the tone of the characters and the period of the story very well. It moves like a play, smoothly and simply, allowing the dialogue to be the meat and muscle. Doubt is set at St. Nicholas, a Catholic school and church in 1964, the Bronx NY. The head priest, Father Brendan Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), is trying to run his parish with love and compassion; an element that seems out of line by one of the head nuns, Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep). When she suspects Father Flynn of abusing one of the schools only young black boys it becomes a battle of morality, authority and emotion. 

Doubt proves, unquestionably, that the key to any films success is writing and the ability of the main actors to make the writing live and breath. Take away one of those elements and you have possibly a decent film at best. When the two come together in perfection you have a stellar film that wins awards and makes people step back and ask why can’t all films be this good. Amy Adams (Sister James) joins Streep and Hoffman as a young nun who teaches the children with a naïve purity and heart. When she gets caught up in the drama she has to decide what constitutes truth if there is no proof. Can what you see be enough? Or do you need faith either to believe or even faith to deny. Adams is a preeminent little actress who has the ability to step it up when needed. June Bug was no fluke and do not let her stream of mindless comedies give you the wrong impression. She completes this triangle of perfect performances that will possibly sweep many category nominations.

There is a message too, many to be exact, in the rapid release of dialogue and conversations. Father Flynn carries much of what is happening to him into his sermons. We hear things about tolerance, doubt, fears and faith. We see a man dealing with all of this while trying to teach those around him. The power of gossip and ungrounded suspicion is a cancerous force that unchecked can cause remarkable destruction. There is certainly life and death in the power of the tongue. And a stray word sets fire like a spark. 

Doubt is rated PG-13 for thematic material. There is nothing remotely objectionable about this film but those under 13 may get lost in the dialogue and story. Like a well acted stage play there isn’t much visually to keep the attention of the younger movie goer. It moves at a nice clip and the superb writing and performances are a must see for anyone who calls themselves a film fan. The question of Flynn’s innocence or guilt stays long after the final credits. This film is sure to strike up discussion and opinion among its viewers. Like an intelligent cat and mouse game Flynn and Beauvier battle to the end. And in most cases where suspicion rules, there are no winners. I give Doubt 4.5 out of 5 Christmas carols. 
  
Matt Mungle (12/09/08)

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Review copyright 2008 Mungleshow Productions. Used by Permission.
 

Just like Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep is on a role in 2008 with two meaty characters. Streep sang and danced through Momma Mia!” and now plays a nun in Doubt. With her dark habit and sharp persona, Streep looks like someone from Salem, MA at the beginning of this country. John Patrick Shanley's stage play, adapted and directed by himself, tells of the certainty a school principal nun has that a popular priest (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) may have comprised an altar boy, Donald Miller. The cat-and-mouse game that goes on here, not only between Streep and Hoffman, but between Streep and a novice nun, Amy Adams, and Hoffman and Adams is stellar writing and acting. What is the truth here?  Then, when the mother of the boy (Viola Davis) speaks to Streep, there is yet another POV. A chess match, indeed.
 
The film begins at a mass with the priest, organ music and altar boys. We see that this is a Catholic school with nuns as teachers. Amy Adams is a young Sister James who teaches history, while Meryl Streep is Sister Aloysius, who is the school’s principal. Nothing escapes the attention of Streep, who literally has eyes in the back of her head. She teaches Adams how to observe student's behavior by hanging a photo of the Pope (any pope will do) on the blackboard and using the glass as a reflection to see what is happening behind her. It is effective. Adams thinks she has seen undo attention from a priest to Miller, a middle-schooler, and casually mentions this to Streep who is on it like a bloodhound on the scent. From then on, Streep appears to want to protect Miller from the priest, Father Flynn, but is this her motive? You don’t know anything of Streep’s past, so you don’t know just why she is adamant about guilt. Hoffman denies anything is wrong, the boy’s family is no help, and even Adams begins to have doubts about guilt. Still Streep marches on with the sureness of a Sherlock Holmes.
 
I don’t know who else could have done this role. Streep just melts down into it and lets the nun’s habit form her shield against the world. Here is a woman who seems to have been born with cynicism. She works in a world where men rule and has to find ways to get around this without using feminine wiles. Adams is the weak link here and I couldn’t place her in the role of a nun. Philip Seymour Hoffman makes a gregarious Father Flynn whose popularity and openness to making the church move forward goes against Streep and her formal ways. His befriending of an unpopular black boy doesn’t sit well with those who only are comfortable with a touch of sarcasm. Oscar nominations are sure to come for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography and Best Script Adaptation.
 
The story is set in winter, so we get the gloom of the city, and gloom of not well-lit rooms. Roger Deakins camera work here is marvelous. Streep is mostly in shadows and you only see her chin or nose or one side of her face when she talks. She is feeling out the other person before proceeding with her views. On the other hand, Adams and Hoffman are shot in full light and their personalities and viewpoints are then brought to the forefront. Donald’s mother is also in the light, though when she makes a certain pronouncement, it is outside with the wind blowing, thus defining her personality. The evidence is presented, the main characters are noted, the effects of an investigation are outlined and it is up to the audience to figure it out. Howard Shore's music sits in the background, with just the right amount of concern.
 
Anyone who has attended a parochial school, particularly a Catholic one, will chuckle at some of the scenes of classroom behavior. Being sent to the principal’s office was a terrible fate. The guilt alone was enough to straighten out your thought processes for years. Doubt” will linger with you. The behind-the-scenes politics are governmental, indeed. There are pros and cons, personalities and incidents, and all set within a church school that is supposed to nurture and protect. Fiat justitia, rust coelum.
 
Copyright 2008 Marie Asner