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In Hamlet, Shakespeare wrote, “The play’s the thing/Wherein I‘ll catch the conscience of the King.” Playwrights have used drama to provoke thought, to make political statements, to encourage us to examine our own strengths and foibles, and manage to entertain us in the meantime. Stage plays adapted for the silver screen have provided us with some of our greatest cinematic works. There is no question that DOUBT will become one of these classics. After a successful Broadway run, John Patrick Shanley adapted his 2004 Pulitzer-prize winning play Doubt: A Parable into the screenplay of DOUBT. The film, directed by Shanley, is a strong, provocative story bolstered by exceptional performances.
The story is set at a Catholic grammar school in the Bronx in 1964. The early 1960’s were a turbulent time for the Catholic church; the Second Vatican Council worked for four years to redefine the roles of the Church and its clerical and lay members. Pope John XXIII wanted the priesthood to take on a more pastoral role in each parish. Newly-transferred parish priest Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) embraces this new attitude with sermons that are relevant to everyday life and close interaction with the students at St. Nicholas Church School. Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) is the principal at St. Nicholas, and she rules with an iron hand. It becomes apparent that Sister Aloysius is fiercely protective of the nuns in her charge, and that she genuinely believes that her stern methods of administration are in the students’ best interest. Sister Aloysius believes in fountain pens, quiet, proper comportment and clear boundaries between the priesthood, sisterhood, and laity. She has a keen eye for detail and considers herself a good judge of character.
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One of the teachers at the school, Sister James (Amy Adams) is young and enthusiastic, but a bit overwhelmed by her boisterous class. She is eager and naïve, but Sister Aloysius helps her gain and keep control. St. Nicholas has just admitted its first black student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster) and Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn realize that there will be some tension as the parish adjusts to this. Father Flynn takes a special interest in young Donald, who confides that he is considering the priesthood as his vocation. This is the firm foundation on which Shanley builds his story. What’s to come seems obvious, but as the film progresses, the ground begins to shift and heave, leaving the audience off-balance and questioning.
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Sister James sees Father Flynn do something she perceives as inappropriate, tells Sister Aloysius, and the black-habited principal springs into action. Confronting Father Flynn with her suspicions, she uses logic, rhetoric, surprise, lies, and traps to make him admit to wrongdoing. Father Flynn tries to use his authority over the nun to silence her, but he has met his match. The audience never knows for sure what may or may not have happened in the rectory — Sister Aloysius doesn’t know for sure, either. As the viewer begins to put the puzzle pieces together, Shanley shakes the table, introducing variables and circumstances that keep anything from fitting together neatly. Shanley is masterful at drawing his audience in, effectively making their opinions and feelings part of the film itself. As each main character handles his or her doubt in various ways, the viewer must also handle his own: are we basing our judgments on gossip? On observable fact? On stereotype? There is a distinct feeling as the ending credits roll that the film is not over; the discussions that this film will provoke make it continue to play long after it’s done. |
The performances in DOUBT are tours-de-force. Hoffman is a wee bit unctuous as Father Flynn; he is self-indulgent and self-centered. He relishes his position of authority, and uses his sermons to chastise his enemies. Streep is at her very best, adding a trademark accent of Bronx-via-Boston that helps the audience remember that she is as human as the rest of us. Amy Adams is transcendent as Sister James, fresh-faced and excited about the changes coming to the Church. Viola Davis, who plays Donald Miller’s mother, is a standout. And all of the children in the cast are believable and natural.
There are a few problems with DOUBT. Most spring from the very difficult task of adapting a stage play to the big screen. Moving pictures must move, so Shanley has inserted some clumsy scenes of people walking or traffic passing here and there. He also has a habit of showing close-ups of objects that have symbolic meaning. We see Father Flynn’s long fingernails, and his blood-rare roast beef dinner. Claws, raw meat — we get it, we get it! The authentic dialog and ever-shifting plot more than make up for these missteps. Visually, this film is rather spare, which underscores the simple lifestyle of the community of nuns. DOUBT’s strength is in its dynamic characters, and is worth seeing for the performances alone. Expect Oscar nominations all around for this stellar work.
Rest assured that this is not a film meant to bash the Catholic Church. It certainly presents clear-cut moral questions about justice and judgments as the characters begin to doubt each other, themselves, and the Church itself. Shanley presents us with a film designed to pose questions, not answer them. DOUBT is certainly the thing to raise our own consciousness, daring us all to consider just where the truth lies. DOUBT will keep you guessing, and keep you talking. Four out of five stars for phenomenal performances. |
