Doubt (2008) Review

Lucas Versantvoort / December 11, 2014

Doubt, like its title suggests, is a story about doubt. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play Doubt: A Parable, it deals with notions of guilt, innocence and what to do with one’s own convictions in times of great doubt.

It’s 1964. In a Catholic Church in the Bronx, Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) gives a sermon about doubt and how it can be a force that unifies rather than divides. Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) finds it odd he would talk about that particular topic. Like the predator she is, she tells her fellow Sisters to keep their eyes open. Soon, some circumstantial evidence starts piling up, suggesting Flynn might be guilty of child molestation. Some of the ‘evidence’ is brought to Aloysius’s attention by the sweet Sister James (Amy Adams). Aloysius’s gut tells her she’s right and she begins her hunt to have Flynn persecuted.

The acting is great across the board. Only PSH was told the truth regarding Flynn and he adapts his performance suitably. You can simultaneously read him as the sneaky, perverted Father or the wrongly accused do-gooder. Streep’s role is the meatiest and she plays it very well, though there’re moments where I see her acting or moments that just feel over-the-top. Amy Adams, now an established name, was still somewhat of an up and comer. She had already been nominated for her supporting role in Junebug and now she was sparring with heavyweights like PSH and Streep. Needless to say, she pulls it off. Her role is tricky in that she represents tenderness and true innocence and in lesser hands, that can come across as schmaltzy, but Adams elegantly avoids these pitfalls. Compare that with her badassery in The Fighter and her subtly threatening performance in The Master. Speaking of breakthrough performances, Viola Davis was an instant Oscar nominee despite her only having one major scene. It helps that she’s the dramatic focus of that scene, but she outperforms Streep and that should tell you something.

Despite the incredibly strong narrative, I did find the ending to be rather weak. After being threatened by Aloysius, Father Flynn left the Bronx Church, having been promoted to pastor in another one. Aloysius sits alone in the garden when Sister James arrives. She confesses to Sister James that she lied to Flynn about her having visited a nun from a previous church he worked at who confirmed Flynn’s guilt. According to her, his leaving confirms her suspicions. Otherwise, why didn’t he fight her allegations? She then breaks down in tears, confessing to Sister James that she has doubts. Two things I don’t like. First of all, the scene feels way too hammy and even Streep can’t save it. It’s supposed to be the cathartic moment where we finally get to see her as a Real Human Being, but it just doesn’t feel right. Secondly, I don’t like how the script suggests Flynn was indeed guilty while the whole point of the film was that we just don’t know, that we automatically rely on our previous experiences and instincts despite the lack of evidence. Indeed, Aloysius’s doubts aren’t about whether or not Flynn’s guilty, but whether she did the right thing in wasting all that time and energy attempting to expose him (“in the pursuit of wrongdoing, one steps away from God”). His guilt was never in question for her. Also, why is Flynn’s leaving an implicit admission of guilt? In my eyes, he realized Aloysius would never relent and that his reputation would be destroyed even if he decided to fight her simply due to the rumors that would inevitably spread. So he left, seeking to do good elsewhere with his reputation intact.

Despite the ending, the rest of the film is very well set up. The script is wonderful (unsurprising considering the playwright adapted his own play for the big screen) and it engages you from beginning to end. It sprinkles clues regarding Flynn’s guilt or innocence throughout, like the flowers in his bible, perhaps representing the amount of children he’s robbed of their innocence (though the symbolism is laid on a bit thick sometimes, like the constantly blowing trees and Aloysius opening Flynn’s curtains, forcing him to ‘see the light and repent for his sins’, as it were). Almost every line uttered by/about Flynn signifies either his innocence or guilt. It can be read both ways, like when Aloysius bluffs by telling him she went to talk with the nun. Flynn responds by saying that she should’ve talked with the pastor as that’s the proper procedure. If you believe Flynn’s guilty, then he’s saying this to keep Aloysius in the dark. That particular pastor might’ve known and approved of Flynn’s behavior so he would definitely vouch for him. If you believe Flynn’s innocent, then it signifies him believing in doing the right thing and Aloysius yet again doing something improper all for the sake of persecuting him. You could easily analyze the entire film like this and it’s one of the reasons I really like it. Also it perfectly fits with the whole point of the story. Like Aloysius, we fumble in the dark, trying to find out the truth about Flynn with zero evidence at our disposal. Combine this with the overall stellar acting and you’ve got a winner.