Doubt

Voltaire once said “Doubt is uncomfortable, certainty is ridiculous.” Thinking about that quote, the prospect of certainty in this world is often incredibly preposterous. We exist in a world with layers, constantly struggling to understand ourselves and our own motives. To be certain of one’s self, a person has to cast aside all doubt. In order to cast aside all doubt, a person must be unreasonable in some fashion. While we can certainly have confidence, there is no ultimate certainty in anything.

With religion, doubt plays an important role. Nobody is certain about the existence of a deity, even if there are those among us who have convinced themselves. Within the labyrinthine hierarchy of the human church, doubt haunts every path and stalks down every hall. It is a constant struggle to oppose doubt, but none of us are entirely successful. Courts decide cases based on the presence of reasonable doubt, while having a healthy sense of doubt is said to create complete human beings capable of accurately judging and acting.

John Patrick Shanley’s 2008 film Doubt is based on his play of the same name. With his motion picture, Shanley takes a compelling look at the uncomfortable nature of doubt and the role it can play in internal church struggles at a Catholic church in the Bronx. Shanley’s script takes a piercing and pragmatic look at conflict within the church and sharp, impeccable acting from the top of the cast to the bottom helps create one of the most engaging and scintillating films of the year.

Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is new at his church and his modern approach to sermons and the school at the church has caught the strict headmistress, Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep), off guard. She instantly casts judgment upon him, warily eyeing her fellow sisters and the students of the school for signs of wavering faith. Sister James (Amy Adams) is a young and naïve teacher and nun and she observes closeness between Father Flynn and one student in particular, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster).

Miller is the school’s only African American boy and it is thought that Father Flynn has taken him under his wing to help him ease in. But after observing a series of strange events, Sister James approaches Sister Aloysius and the two confront Father Flynn about what is deemed an inappropriate relationship. Father Flynn abruptly casts away the accusation, but Sister Aloysius is certain that it must be true and begins to pursue Father Flynn with the allegations. Sister James, meanwhile, believes that Father Flynn is telling the truth.

Shanley’s Doubt utilizes the elements of Sister Aloysius’ certainty as the ultimate obstacles to compassion. It is not about the “truth” of what happened, as that is never completely revealed. Instead, it is about the process to get at the truth and sureness. Sister Aloysius is “sure of it” that Father Flynn is guilty, yet she has no evidence or proof. While doubt defines and unites us, as Father Flynn says in one of the film’s opening scenes, Sister Aloysius appears to live by different standards. She has set herself apart with her certainty and with her hatred of modern conventions, such as ballpoint pens.

Doubt works as a sort of showcase for four performers at the peak of their powers. Streep, Hoffman, Adams, and Viola Davis – who plays Donald’s mother in a pivotal and emotional scene – are all brilliant here. As we’ve seen, all have also garnered Oscar nominations. It is perhaps the best set of performances in a single film as I have witnessed all year and there is no way to do the work here justice in a simple review. There are scenes in Doubt that will leave you flabbergasted, as these performers truly inhabit their characters.

Shanley’s screenplay has also picked up a nomination and it is fantastic. Doubt is a film based on a play, so the sequences mainly consist of acts of verbal sparring. We are treated to a long and excellent scene with Streep and Davis, and another incredible scene with Streep and Hoffman. A scene involving Streep, Hoffman, and Adams near the beginning of the picture is fantastic in its pacing and in the constant and bizarre interruptions the characters experience during a very solemn tête-à-tête.

Doubt works as well as it does because it works in a subtle way to achieve its goals. There are no overt mentions of pedophilia amongst priests, no accusations are laid out on the table boldly, and no brawl erupts involving the characters. Instead, Shanley plays it relatively cool and allows the nods, the movements, the slight gestures, and the expressions to tell his story. And in the hands of these great actors, such an approach was a wise move – no doubt about it.

Trailer: