In the way that the film’s priest hopes to convey the possibility of doubt in the hearts of the members of his parish, John Patrick Shanley hoped to convey this possibility of doubt in all we believe in so firmly, in his sermon of sorts: first his play and then his film, Doubt. The hope is not to falsify all we believe in, just to prove the importance of recognizing the possibility of falsities, recognizing the imperfection of faith, recognizing the existence and persistence of doubts.
While faith for many is a loose term at best, do not doubt that this film is excellent. Where other films with an all-star cast fail to deliver, Doubt does not. For this the DVD or Blu-ray is a must-own; being able to take another look at a film that captures some of the best acting in American film whenever you wish makes the purchase worthwhile. The play was well respected as it was, and in order to bring it to the screen, it took big names and even bigger performances.
It captures the story of a 1960s Catholic school in the Bronx and its nuns, a priest, and its pupils. Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is the insightful preacher and jolly teacher to the children in the school, opposite Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep) who is the quick to punish and sharp tongued principal. The pair find themselves in a battle when the young, innocent Sister James (Amy Adams), fears the good priest has made an improper advance on one of the young boys in the school. While Hoffman and Streep go blow for blow, Adams serves as the middleman, holding her own between this pair of giants, earning herself a place in the actor’s hall of fame. And of course there’s Viola Davis, who plays the mother of the young boy with whom Father Flynn is suspected of carrying on inappropriate relations. Davis’ roles before Doubt were relatively minor, but her scene with Streep gave her a quick boost up the totem pole as her performance is electrifying and heartbreaking, forcing you to hold your breath, just so you don’t miss a moment of it by exhaling.
For me, the performances are really what make this film what it is. The story is entertaining and achieves Shanley’s goal of creating a thought-provoking sermon, but the writing is occasionally over-the-top and too theatrical. It makes sense a former play turned film would come with a few melodramatic lines, but realism is preferred to the exaggerated theatricality that intermittently shows up in Doubt.
We can forgive Shanley this—as would a good Catholic—but his direction is also somewhat flawed. Some of his shots are framed exquisitely, beautifully using color and composition, but others are very stylized and too self-aware, again unfortunately smearing a trait of theater all over the silver screen. However, even these nuances, which muddy up the perfection that could’ve been, are not enough to ruin the film as the general story and stellar performances leave little skepticism as to the excellence that is Doubt.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Another reason to own the film comes from the special features on the Blu-ray. While sections on the musical score and interviews with actual nuns are interesting, there are also featurettes that contain what I always hope for in the special features. Doubt’s extras contain multiple interviews from the four main characters, including a segment in which the four leads (Hoffman, Streep, Adams, and Davis), provide a group interview. It’s always interesting to see the actors interact with one another outside of the lines they were given to say. Furthermore, there are individual interviews from those four cast members as well as an interview from John Patrick Shanley, Doubt’s creator, that’s cut together in a segment on the set during the filming of the movie. The extras aren’t top-notch, but its definitely a great bonus for a movie that should be bought regardless of its extras.
"Doubt" is on sale April 7, 2009 and is rated PG13. Drama. Directed by John Patrick Shanley. Written by John Patrick Shanley (screenplay, play). Starring Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Viola Davis.
