I know what you’re thinking. Not another story about priests molesting an altar boy? Are they going to keep telling the same sob story until they start raising the age requirement for altar boys to 18?
Thankfully, Doubt is not a story about the molestation itself, but the accusations and the doubt that arise from them. Hearing about these cases, we are often treated to the perspectives of the traumatized victims, their disillusioned parents, and the guilty parties that hide the crime (the excellent 2006 doc Deliver Us From Evil shows these perspectives with clarity). Doubt offers two other perspectives from the church: the innocent side who can’t believe such a monstrosity could occur, and the angry side who wants to cut the pedophiles out to save the church’s integrity.
Meryl Streep is Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the Draconian principal of a Bronx catholic school who accuses the charismatic Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of molesting one of their students. The allegedly molested boy is the only black kid in school and is bullied mercilessly for it, on top of having an abusive father. Father Flynn is the only person in the world kind enough to look after him, and it’s easy to look at a priest in that light these days, especially when Flynn looks like your typical child molester (no offense to Mr. Hoffman, who I’m sure keeps it in his pants around children). The young and naive Sister James (Amy Adams) listens to Father Flynn’s pleas of innocence and believes him, even though she was the one who first discovered his suspicious activities. Sister Aloysius, however, is adamant in proving his guilt. “Doubt” is not a word she understands, believing 100% that Flynn is guilty even with no evidence to speak of, hinting at a personal vendetta.
As can be expected, Streep is stunning as the enraged nun, playing it both hard and humorous. It’s also great to see a struggling Amy Adams having to contain her bubbly excitement under a strict garb. The standout, though, is Viola Davis, who plays the molested boy’s mother and only appears in one scene, but provides a moment so shocking and heartbreaking that she steals the movie completely. In a movie where its principal actors delivered very big and fiery performances, Davis’ performance feels the most human and most memorable.
The acting is the primary reason to see Doubt. Yet it’s also why the film is such an obvious Oscar bait. It’s full of showy confrontations for the sake of boasting its actors, as well as laughably trite symbolism. In one scene, while talking about coming up with proof of Father Flynn’s crime, a random caretaker bursts into the room holding a dead mouse, announcing “See? I told you it takes a cat to catch a mouse!”, followed by Sister Aloysius smiling and rubbing her chin. You may groan now.
I’m surprised they let playwright John Patrick Shanley (whose only other film credit is the abysmal Joe vs the Volcano) direct this film adaptation, as he doesn’t seem to have a grasp of cinematic techniques. The film feels very confined, revisiting the same set over and over again. Its stage play roots stick out too prominently, and any attempt of hiding it comes across as desperate. He switches to absurd camera angles out of the blue for absolutely no reason other than to break monotony, and it just looks embarrassing.
A more effective symbolic use is the placement of the story in a specific period. Deliberately set in 1964, the film never locks itself onto the period other than a few cultural references here and there, but it attributes the clash between Aloysius and Flynn to the social change of the time. It is as much a question of culture as it is one of moral ethics. In Father Flynn, we see a more relaxed approach to Catholicism, which allows him to be more accessible to the young students. He grows his nails long, he wines and dines merrily, he suggests secular songs. Meanwhile, Sister Aloysius adheres to the strict rules of her convent, never allowing herself even basic pleasures like sugar. It’s a battle between the old school and the new school, mirroring the change happening outside the church, with Sister James as the confused youth trapped in between progressiveness and tradition, searching for balance. More importantly, it also speaks about women’s role in the church, trailing behind the 60’s feminist movement happening outside. The film makes a point in showing the vast difference in the lifestyle of the nuns and the priests. The former living in servitude, the latter enjoying the fun of everyday entertainment.
Doubt embraces the feeling of “doubt” as both a crisis of faith and the central question of the story. The film never explicitly reveals the crime, leaving us to question if it actually occurred. Like belief in a higher power, it’s the doubt that gets you.
"Doubt" opens December 12, 2008 and is rated PG13. Drama. Written and directed by John Patrick Shanley. Starring Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Viola Davis.
