Doubt

Whenever a film tackles a sensitive or inflammatory subject, one can only hope it’s done with objectivity and it let’s the audience decide for themselves.  I remember working at the best video rental establishment ever, Cinema-Scope, and many customers would complain that a movie they had rented didn’t have a clear answer at the end of the film.  To me, those were always the best films, the ones that left you guessing.   Those are the films you’re talking about for days after you’ve left the theater, not just a few minutes after.  As I left the theater from having seen Doubt, I knew that it was one those films.

In Doubt, it’s 1964 and Father Flynn (a phenomenal Philip Seymour Hoffman) has become the new priest at church/catholic school in the Bronx.  Unfortunately, his want to change some of the long held customs at the church does not sit well with Sister Aloysius (a never better Meryl Streep) and she begins a crusade of sorts to try to defame and remove Father Flynn.

There are two big reasons this film is as good as it is: Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep.  These are actors that don’t just act in movies, they inhabit roles and, by all appearances, effortlessly fit in to every character’s shoes.  Such is the case in Doubt.  There’s a scene in this movie where we see Father Flynn in gym class teaching some boys how to play basketball and while it may come off as just a random scene of life at a catholic school, it’s a brilliant example of Hoffman’s ability to become a character.  Streep’s Sister Aloysius is the kind of character you immediately hate within a few minutes of her appearing on screen.  She has an absolute disdain for anyone who disagrees with her views and will not tolerate even the slightest out of line behavior.  But Streep plays her with such conviction, it’s hard to not be impressed with the performance.  Anyone who has seen this film will agree that the highlight, without question, is the final confrontation between Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius.  Hoffman and Streep are without question two of the best actors working today whose individual legacies will be looked upon with admiration by other actors for generations to come.  Watching them go one on one was nothing short of mesmerizing.  I could tell that they both knew that this scene was the cornerstone of the film and they treated it as such.  It was reminiscent of Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino in Heat: two great actors playing off one another and enjoying every minute of it.  The entire film is building towards this moment and it’s a huge payoff.  My only complaint about this film, and it’s a minor one at that, is that pretty much every scene felt like it was a stage play.  This makes sense considering it was directed and written by John Patrick Shanley who also wrote the play on which this film is based.  Again, it’s a minor complaint, but at times it felt distracting and it took me out of the movie a little bit.  Don’t let that stop you from going to see this movie because in addition to watching the excellent performances, it asks some tough questions from the audience that have no easy answers.  In the end, a good movie that features a tough or taboo topic merely holds up a mirror to the issue and asks the audience to decide for themselves.  Doubt definitely achieves this.

Captain Cinema Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

On a side note, I saw this film and Slumdog Millionaire at the Red River Theatres in Concord, NH.  It was my first trip there and it will not be my last.  It’s a fantastic facility that shows indie and art-house movies, one of the few theaters that do this in NH.  They have four auditoriums, stadium seating, and they serve beer!  High five!  Here’s a link to their website:Red River Theatres