Doubt

by Matthew Rodgers

John Patrick Shanley adapts his own Pulitzer Prize winning play with this big screen version of morose sister act scandal chaser, Doubt.

Set in 1964, it centres on Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep), a St. Nicholas Parish nun who confronts her superior, Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) about his supposed indecent intentions towards a young choir boy. Without a shred of evidence she sets off on a personal crusade based on intuition alone, “I know people”, along the way manipulating timid Sister James (Amy Adams) into testimony and locking horns in a battle of wills and morality.

There is no doubt that erm, Doubt features some stellar turns. The fact that it struggles, or doesn’t attempt to escape its boardwalk origins with simple sets and very limited scope mean the actors are always at the forefront. Those actors are the perennially brilliant Hoffman, superbly charismatic as the under-fire priest, and Meryl Streep, whose transformation from acid-tongued principal to scattershot investigator could be her finest hour, when they are the driving force then it’s time to take notice. The real revelation is Adams, seemingly transferring her innocent Junebug performance into a shuffling habit, it’s only when the cracks begin appearing in her well worn sanity that the awards gossip is justified.

Despite the trio of sparkling performances a recommendation is hardly a cert. The direction is executed with a steady hand, only the odd flurry of wind as Streep starts to question her motives signal any extravagance, although we could certainly do without the claps of thunder as Hoffman and Streep exchange retorts, its another signifier of the stories theatrical origins.

The subject itself is intriguing without ever being exploited for controversy , but not one that hasn’t been touched on before in the likes of Primal Fear, Sleepers, and the odd Sunday night TV drama. The real joy lies in your switching allegiances between Father Flynn and Sister Beauvier, as they play cat and mouse so does the audience, intently focused on Shanley’s excellent wordplay.

Doubt’s major fault may be that Shanley didn’t step away from material he is so familiar with, the only thing that truly sparkles are the dialogue driven performances, in the hands of an accomplished director this may be have been something great instead of good bordering on dull.