Sometimes in life there are things that make you question everything you thought you knew, and that will cause serious doubt. This is the overall theme of 2008’s Doubt, acclaimed writer/director John Patrick Shanley’s brilliantly acted and subtly unnerving adaptation of his 2004 Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play.
Buy Doubt Blu-rayThe always-riveting Meryl Streep portrays Sister Aloysius, the strictly conservative and fear-inspiring principal nun of a Catholic school who becomes suspicious of the “wrongdoings” of charismatic and progressive parish priest Father Flynn (the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman) who takes a special interest in a troubled pupil. Using information given to her by gullible but well-meaning Sister James (the always-amazing Amy Adams), she demands Flynn to confess. However, with Sister James now believing him and after an encounter with the pupil’s mother (a scene-stealing Viola Davis), Aloysius finds that trying to discover the truth is not always so simple.
Offering no easy answers but delivering very expert filmmaking and electric performances from everyone involved, the film is really about people being victims of their doing, especially due to their own beliefs and what they think is right or wrong, sometimes (or most times) at the expense of others. There are no real heroes or villains in it. Each character has two sides to them, which is another reason why the film succeeds and should invite repeat viewings, that and Shanley’s brilliant screenplay and direction.
In terms of adaptations of famous plays, I think that Doubt is one of the very best. It’s a masterclass of acting and a sobering portrait of faith, humanity, and the old changing into the new.
Special features include audio commentary by Shanley and four featurettes: Doubt: From Stage to Screen, Scoring Doubt, The Cast of Doubt, and The Sisters of Charity.
