If an uplifting film is what you're looking for, "Doubt" is not that film. Carried on the strength of its three lead actors' performances and with a painfully illuminating turn by Oscar nominee Viola Davis, who makes the most of limited screen time, this film about whether a priest acted inappropriately with a boy at parochial school will keep you riveted to the screen.
The director refuses to choose sides in the film. Meryl Streep as the mother superior and Philip Seymour Hoffman as the priest are given room to delve deeply into their characters without revealing their true motivations. While the performances sometimes overshadow the plot, the director never loses control of the themes or the emotion propelling the story.
Sister Aloysius (Streep) rules St. Nicholas school with an iron fist. The children and her fellow nuns are afraid of her unyielding nature and steely determination. Father Flynn (Hoffman), a new priest at the parish, seeks to change the public's perception of the church. The year is 1964 and the times, they are a-changing. Flynn wants to change with them; Sister Aloysius clings to the old ways. One African-American boy, Donald, attends the religious school and is picked on by the other boys. After Father Flynn takes an interest in protecting him, Sister James (Amy Adams, "Enchanted") notices a secret meeting between the boy and the priest in the rectory and confesses her concern to Sister Aloysius. Streep's character assumes the worst and starts a subtle campaign to have the father removed from the school.
Sister James acts as the audience's perspective into a world behind church doors. She earnestly wants to believe the best about people but has her doubts. Streep loses herself in the habit of her uncompromising nun. In her most convincing performance in years (and that's saying something), she manages to incur audience dislike while acting as the protagonist of the story. You can't help but trust in her certainty while disdaining her methods. Hoffman is equal to the task of defending himself against the accusations leveled. His expressions are hard to decipher and may be indicating anything from embarrassment to offense to guilt. While you may like Father Flynn and want to believe him, modern audiences are likely to see the situation with a cynical distrust.
The dark tone of the film can be suffocating to a viewer looking for certainty and clarity. With so many richly-developed performances, it can also feel like the actors are mugging for the camera. However, the story itself requires seeing it through to the very end. "Doubt" is a serious piece of cinema which portrays important subjects in a compassionate but complicated way.
Rated R for some violent and disturbing content and language.
