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Doubt
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Product Details
| Actors: | Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams |
| Format: | AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen |
| Release Date: | 2009-04-07 |
| Aspect Ratio: | 1.85:1 |
| Audience Rating: | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) |
| Category: | DVD |
| Label/Manufacturer: | Miramax |
| UPC: | 786936756173 |
Product Description
It's always a risk when writers direct their own work, since some playwrights don't travel well from stage to screen. Aided by Roger Deakins, of No Country for Old Men fame, who vividly captures the look of a blustery Bronx winter, Moonstruck's John Patrick Shanley pulls it off. If Doubt makes for a dialogue-heavy experience, like The Crucible and 12 Angry Men, the words and ideas are never dull, and a consummate cast makes each one count. Set in 1964 and loosely inspired by actual events, Shanley focuses on St. Nicholas, a Catholic primary school that has accepted its first African-American student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster), who serves as altar boy to the warm-hearted Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Donald may not have any friends, but that doesn't worry his mother, Mrs. Miller (Viola Davis in a scene-stealing performance), since her sole concern is that her son gets a good education. When Sister James (Amy Adams) notices Flynn concentrating more of his attentions on Miller than the other boys, she mentions the matter to Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep), the school's hard-nosed principal. Looking for any excuse to push the progressive priest out of her tradition-minded institution, Sister Aloysius sets out to destroy him, and if that means ruining Donald's future in the process--so be it. Naturally, she's the least sympathetic combatant in this battle, but Streep invests her disciplinarian with wit and unexpected flashes of empathy. Of all the characters she's played, Sister Aloysius comes closest to caricature, but she never feels like a cartoon; just a sad woman willing to do anything to hold onto what little she has before the forces of change render her--and everything she represents--redundant. --Kathleen C. FennessyStills from Doubt (Click for larger image)
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Product Features
Customer Reviews
Rated
on 2010-08-13I picked out this movie on a whim. Not sure what to expect I figured it would be a good movie for a weekend night. I'd heard a lot about this movie so I thought it must be good. Sadly, I was somewhat disappointed.
The movie largely centers around three main characters. Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep), and Sister James (Amy Adams). Both sisters work for the Catholic school and Father Flynn is the priest for the church. When it comes to the notice of Sister James that Father Flynn is paying too much attention to a particular boy, she brings her concerns to Sister Aloysius. Sister Aloysius has long suspected something to be off and now she has the ammunition she needs to try to remove Father Flynn from the church. Unfortunately though, the men in the church have always been more powerful than the women.
This movie had the potential to be very good; intriguing plotline, mystery, suspicions. But it actually, to me, was rather boring. There was a lot of dry dialogue and not even much action. The most exciting the scenes got were a couple arguments and some sermons in the church. With such powerful actors used, it seems like they could have made better use of their talents. Meryl Streep as usual was wonderful but the character didn't let her expand on those talents past a few arguments. Amy Adams character was flighty and annoying when, as a nun, perhaps she should have been a little more grounded. Hoffman, while he always plays the bad guy, just didn't give off those undertones which could have made his character that more interesting.
I probably wouldn't watch this one again. It just didn't captivate me enough to make it interesting. I wish I could say more about it but unfortunately there wasn't very much activity in this movie to talk about.
Rated
on 2010-08-02Count me among the minority of reviewers who doubt that this movie has any real merit. As they've noted, this movie only pretends to wrestle with uncertainty and doubt of a profound form. Anyone who entertains no doubts with regard to the big questions has fallen under the spell of an ideology; if you need this movie to be awakened to doubt, you've probably been in the grip of such a spell.
The main doubt portrayed by the movie is actually a superficial one resulting from witholding information which would provide closure and meaning to the rather simple plot. The truncated ending (or rather lack of a real ending) is such a fatal flaw that any redeeming qualities this movie has (and there are many) are totally undermined, to the extent that my rating is pushed all the way down to the extreme of 1 star, which is a rarity for me (I tend to be generous with movie ratings).
I have no doubt that the 100+ minutes I spent watching this movie were wasted.
Rated
on 2010-07-21Wonderful movie. Great glimpse into catholic schools in the 60's. Keeps you one the edge of your seat.
Rated
on 2010-07-04This is a very interesting story about the conflict between a tradition-bound disciplinarian, Streep, and a progressive priest played brilliantly by Hoffman. Though it takes place in 1964, the 60s upheavals are really only beginning. Streep wants to keep things simple and controlled, Hoffman to open the church to new ideas. While Streep is more overtly political in the way she enlists a young nun, the wonderful Amy Adams, Hoffman is also proven extremely adept at these kinds of career maneuvering.
The pawn in the story is a solitary young black boy, the first admitted to the Bronx catholic school. He is deeply troubled from an abusive household, yet full of potential; his mother is on his side and hoping to advance his education with the desperation of a person who know she has only one shot. As we all know from recent allegations, the church did not deal well with the proclivities of some of its employees. As Hoffman has lavished attention on the black boy, he becomes suspect in this regard. The young nun is caught in between.
Now, on the surface, it is easy to label the characters. Streep is vicious, resentful, and seeking power as she looks back; Hoffman is a good man, a victim, a visionary who looks forward. But of course, things may not be that simple. Streep may be onto something. Hoffman may not be all that he appears. To the great credit of the playwrite, this is never definitively resolved, but left to the viewer to reason it out. The result is an utterly rivetting drama that can be interpreted in many different ways. I think that there is truth to everyone's point of view in the film.
Recommended. The film is a window into a world, a time, and a terrible human dilemma. The acting is absolutely first rate.
Rated
on 2010-06-27We all experience doubt about important experiences in our lives. How we respond to them, I think, depends on our predilection based on other life experiences, consciousness level, openness of mind, etc. How Sr. Aloysisus (played by Streep) responds to the potentiality of sexual abuse occurring in her school is colored by her hostility towards Fr. Flynn's (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) liberal Catholicism. What is the truth of the situation? We are not told, and so we have our own doubt. How do we decide? What predilection do we have? Personally, my predilection is toward the weak, therefore I side with Sr. Aloysius and the boy Donald. Can we suppress our predilections and so get closer to the truth? It may mean having doubt about our cherished institutions, ideals, philosophies, etc. Can we make those leaps? I think the movie raised some very very important issues and challenges for us all!
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