Director: John Patrick Shanley (from his play)

In 1964, at a Catholic school in the Bronx, there is certainty. Sister Aloysius is the Principal, a rock of vigilance and discipline. Sister James, a young teacher, believes that kindness is the foundation of the church. Father Flynn is convinced that change must happen for the church to be effective. But now, there are incidents that point to something improper between Father Flynn and the school’s first black student.

As someone who was brought up very lazily Protestant, I’m fascinated by people who really wrestle with faith. These can be real people or characters in film or literature. They can be cynical and lapsed in their faith, or frothy in the description of belief. Thoughtful consideration of the meaning existence, not the cookie-cutter stamp of “thou shall and shall not”. Faith isn’t blind belief based in fear of being wrong. It’s realizing that a moral gray area can be a sieve that strains a belief, may even change it, but then reconstitutes it as something stronger to be used every day. Faith can be a living, breathing thing. And then by fault or distraction, faith, in anything, can wriggle away from us.

Doubt, the film, seems distracted. I assume the film is slimmer than on stage. The themes are more ambitious than just a whodunit, and a stage play can stretch out with language and character interaction. But in the film, scenes of life at school seem tacked on, offering background but not really feeling like part of the film. And though none involved sink to two dimensionality, Meryl Streep, as Sister Aloysius, is becoming a scene chewer like Pacino. Likewise, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn and Amy Adams as Sister James have their actorly moments. But it’s a few minutes of screen time, with Viola Davis as the young boy’s mother, that shift the film’s moral centerpoint. Whether it was Streep consciously being generous as an actor or the reaction of the character of Sister Aloysius, it’s a truly fine “back-off” moment that succeeds in turning the film in a new direction. But then it just doesn’t gather steam.

The ending of Doubt is oddly pat, but ambiguous, with a sudden twist of consequence. I’ll give Shanley points for trying. As a man who must have wrestled with his faith at some point, he offers no smug answers for any of the characters’ actions. The film just doesn’t succeed completely. But its intent may have been only to get you to wrestle with doubt and faith a little. – [DVD]

Drama

Rated PG-13

DVD Release Date: 4/7/09

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