Doubt is a funny thing. It has a way of sneaking itself into our lives, forcing us to question all those things we thought were supposed to be beyond questioning. Our place in the universe, for one—our purpose in life, the love we have for family and friends, the trust we have in our co-workers, and so on, right down the line. Doubt blends itself into the very fabric of our lives, never all at once, but always beginning with just a quiet little question:
What if?
What if that person is not who they claim to be? What if this thing we value so highly is worthless or doesn’t even exist at all? When Oliver Cromwell confronted his accusers with “I beseech you, from the bowels of Christ—think it possible you may be mistaken!” he actually created a statement that downright weaponizes doubt. And that is the focus of the movie of the same name, Doubt.
A tension-packed, downright thrilling drama based on a play, with a plot so relevant it may well have been ripped from next week’s headlines, Doubt pits the rigid disciplinarian principal of a Catholic school against a progressive, popular priest. The principal, Sister Aloysius Beauvier, means to aggressively root out wrongdoing wherever she may find it, but she may have found a lot more than she bargained for from Father Flynn, the priest. And as she strives to get to the bottom of what she believes is wrongdoing, she discovers that she has little proof to support her suspicions, but what she has is lots of doubt.
After seeing Doubt, I find myself convinced that more movies should be adapted from stage plays. This is a taut, terrifying piece that all but requires the actors involved (Philip Seymour Hoffman as Flynn and a stunning Meryl Streep as Beauvier) to literally carry the plot on their backs. There are only a handful of different scenes here—most everything is done either in or around this Catholic middle / grammar school—and thus is so heavily dependent on the actors. Indeed, Streep and Hoffman rise easily to the occasion. Some of the best scenes in the movie are this irresistible force shrieking at this immovable object and watching them go at it. They collide with an elemental force, each with their own kind of surety…and with their own kind of doubt as well. They get plenty of support in all quarters from the rest of the cast, with the rest of the denizens of the Catholic school alternately providing both tension and tension-cutting laughs throughout.
There’s just no two ways about it—Doubt is an incredible achievement that represents some of the best that drama can offer. Frankly, it’s no wonder that this tore up as many awards shows as it did—it’s a powerful and profound work that’s still accessible, with some great twists and surprises. It’s a deep and rich affair, and perhaps most importantly, highly watchable.
Go out and get a copy of this—it’s hit video store shelves not so long ago. It’s going to be well worth your time and viewing dollar to enjoy this magnificent work.
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night, we mustn’t let it go unnoticed that they also handed out awards to Sean Penn for playing activist Harvey Milk in Milk and Meryl Streep for her performance as a fiercely certain nun in Doubt.