David O'ConnellDoubt
January 23rd 2009 02:34
Any translation of a play to screen has to overcome certain barriers, the least of which being the unreasonably high expectations generated when the play is a Pulitzer-Prize winner like John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt. Previously known to filmgoers as the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Moonstruck, Shanley chose to take the reins on his own work as director of the film version, some 18 long years after his underrated debut Joe Versus the Volcano.
Shanley assembled a fine cast to bring his bleak drama to life, questioning as it does the moral integrity of its main players and the church as an entity. Set in New York, 1964, the parish priest at St. Nicholas, Fr. Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) comes under the close scrutiny of an overbearing, rigid nun, Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) for his behaviour with students of the school, in particular the lone black boy Donald Miller (Joseph Foster). Armed with her “certainty” and lofty view on moral high ground, she comes to believe that Fr. Flynn has begun to act inappropriately with Donald and seeks confirmation from the wide-eyed young Sister James (Amy Adams) to assist in gathering proof of her suspicions.
The doubt as to Fr. Flynn’s guilt remains the film’s main point of contention and the mystery that drives it to its ambiguous conclusion, leaving the audience to interpret what we’ve seen and heard. Moments of clarity in Shanley’s film are soon clouded by moral intricacies that give it a dramatic weight, and certainly the high quality of the performances makes it all the more compelling.
It’s not hard to empathize with Fr. Flynn as he’s portrayed as a kindly man who shares a genuine rapport with the students whilst committed to raising the profile of the church, reinvigorating it to comply with a more modern notion. Much of the tension with Sister Aloysius at first seems due to a clash in their perception of its direction, Fr. Flynn convinced that her influence is unduly casting unfavourable light on the way they present themselves to the world, mired in the dark ages and treating the students with the firmness of convicted criminals.
Hoffman gives another superb performance as the conflicted priest, torn between regret and the all-encompassing doubt that pervades his life, tearing away at the strongholds of his religious calling. Is he really guilty? Or is he convinced into believing the pervasive doubt that the vindictive Sister Aloysius sheds on his life is too much of a burden to either live with, or rather, overcome? There are no easy answers, despite the implications of things said in the final riveting exchanges between the two, and Shanley’s shifting definition of doubt and its ramifications will linger long after the end credits have faded.
Amy Adams seems out of her depth at first as the innocent but idealistic Sister James, but her performance gathers credibilty as her role becomes more prominent, and as a reflection of a more modern approach to religion she’s an interesting counterpoint to the severity of Sister Aloysius. Viola Davis provides a show-stopping small turn as Donald Miller’s mother; the scene with her and Sister Aloysius walking along the street is a real highlight, possibly the best in the film.
Meryl Streep was the only actor who detracted from the film’s otherwise high standard for me. No doubt she’ll continue to win plaudits, but her mannered performance with a continual series of eye-rolling, exasperated expressions was distractingly out-of-kilter with the rest of the cast, and playing an arrogant, humourless, excessively rigid nun who’s impossible to like made it all the more difficult a task to keep her role in context.
Shanley’s direction shows a fairly narrow range though he’s hindered by the usual limitations created by a work written for the stage, and there's no doubting his skill in eliciting fine work from his actors. Howard Shore’s sparsely spotted score, with its ominous ecclesiastical tone, is used well, whilst any film shot by cinematographer Roger Deakins is worth appreciating on a visual level.
Though some aspects of Streep's performance annoyed me, they didn’t affect the overall impression I’ll take away from seeing Doubt. Though it begins unspectacularly, it does gather momentum as the mystery deepens and more complexities, with their fascinating moral dimensions, come to light. Both thought-provoking and moving, Doubt is one of the more accomplished films of recent times.
Shanley assembled a fine cast to bring his bleak drama to life, questioning as it does the moral integrity of its main players and the church as an entity. Set in New York, 1964, the parish priest at St. Nicholas, Fr. Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) comes under the close scrutiny of an overbearing, rigid nun, Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) for his behaviour with students of the school, in particular the lone black boy Donald Miller (Joseph Foster). Armed with her “certainty” and lofty view on moral high ground, she comes to believe that Fr. Flynn has begun to act inappropriately with Donald and seeks confirmation from the wide-eyed young Sister James (Amy Adams) to assist in gathering proof of her suspicions.
The doubt as to Fr. Flynn’s guilt remains the film’s main point of contention and the mystery that drives it to its ambiguous conclusion, leaving the audience to interpret what we’ve seen and heard. Moments of clarity in Shanley’s film are soon clouded by moral intricacies that give it a dramatic weight, and certainly the high quality of the performances makes it all the more compelling.
Mother Superior herself, Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius
It’s not hard to empathize with Fr. Flynn as he’s portrayed as a kindly man who shares a genuine rapport with the students whilst committed to raising the profile of the church, reinvigorating it to comply with a more modern notion. Much of the tension with Sister Aloysius at first seems due to a clash in their perception of its direction, Fr. Flynn convinced that her influence is unduly casting unfavourable light on the way they present themselves to the world, mired in the dark ages and treating the students with the firmness of convicted criminals.
Hoffman gives another superb performance as the conflicted priest, torn between regret and the all-encompassing doubt that pervades his life, tearing away at the strongholds of his religious calling. Is he really guilty? Or is he convinced into believing the pervasive doubt that the vindictive Sister Aloysius sheds on his life is too much of a burden to either live with, or rather, overcome? There are no easy answers, despite the implications of things said in the final riveting exchanges between the two, and Shanley’s shifting definition of doubt and its ramifications will linger long after the end credits have faded.
Sister Aloysius with Fr. Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman)
Amy Adams seems out of her depth at first as the innocent but idealistic Sister James, but her performance gathers credibilty as her role becomes more prominent, and as a reflection of a more modern approach to religion she’s an interesting counterpoint to the severity of Sister Aloysius. Viola Davis provides a show-stopping small turn as Donald Miller’s mother; the scene with her and Sister Aloysius walking along the street is a real highlight, possibly the best in the film.
Meryl Streep was the only actor who detracted from the film’s otherwise high standard for me. No doubt she’ll continue to win plaudits, but her mannered performance with a continual series of eye-rolling, exasperated expressions was distractingly out-of-kilter with the rest of the cast, and playing an arrogant, humourless, excessively rigid nun who’s impossible to like made it all the more difficult a task to keep her role in context.
Amy Adams plays Sister James
Shanley’s direction shows a fairly narrow range though he’s hindered by the usual limitations created by a work written for the stage, and there's no doubting his skill in eliciting fine work from his actors. Howard Shore’s sparsely spotted score, with its ominous ecclesiastical tone, is used well, whilst any film shot by cinematographer Roger Deakins is worth appreciating on a visual level.
Though some aspects of Streep's performance annoyed me, they didn’t affect the overall impression I’ll take away from seeing Doubt. Though it begins unspectacularly, it does gather momentum as the mystery deepens and more complexities, with their fascinating moral dimensions, come to light. Both thought-provoking and moving, Doubt is one of the more accomplished films of recent times.
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Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
The director of Joe vs. the Volcano? Interesting!
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Shanley's had an interesting career - Joe vs. the Volcano has become a guilty pleasure of mine, I know it's generally been reviled over the years but I saw it again last year and thought it was inspired in a very dark, weird way - a lot better than I remembered it being!
Comment by Quin Goot
Cinema Banana
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic