Doubt 2008
This movie got very good reviews when it came out, but I am always a little leery of movies where the main accolades go to the acting performances. Throw in priests and sexual abuse of boys and I want to run in the opposite direction. Doubt only has three main characters, all of whom were nominated for Oscars (in addition to a small supporting part by Viola Davis). Somehow it still made it to the top of the Netflix queue though.
I’m glad I saw it because it is one of the best movies of 2008. Yes, the story hinges on an acusation of abuse by a priest, but the story is more about these characters. Meryl Streep plays a stereotypical old-time Catholic school nun who does everything but smack students across their knuckles with a ruler. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a young “cool priest” who has embraced post-Vatican II changes and is open and friendly towards the students. But as so often is the case, even the cool priests can come off just a bit creepy: a little too touchy, a little awkward, a little bit weird. Hoffman strikes just the right balance. This isn’t just his performance, but also the writing (the adaptation from the play also getting an Oscar) which calls attention Hoffman letting his fingernails grow a little long.
Amy Adams is good in a pretty simple role and Viola Davis knocks her two scenes out of the park as the mother of the school’s only black student. The plot is kind of slow, but watching Streep and Hoffman makes up for that. In the end, the writing really delivers. The result grabs you just like another recent movie which garnered so many acting nominations, Mystic River.
Written: 30 Jul 2009
Owned on: Blu-ray, Digital