Doubt

Written and directed by the playwright John Patrick Shanley, Doubt is a fairly cut and dry story of suspected pedophilia within the Catholic church in 1964. From the onset, there is a sense of contrived emotional manipulation, and it never subsides. An A-list cast led by Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman playing the head sister and the priest respectively, there is little more than Mamet-inspired dialogue and innuendo. Each character has a precise role, and there is predictability up until the final confrontation.

One of the problems is that there is no mystery here. Streep's nun is the old-school disciplinarian who is feared and respected by all - including the other sisters. Hoffman's priest is a more hip, new generation father who sees a more friendly and progressive education as what the kids need. Is that due to his true educational philosophy, or is there an ulterior motive? I'll never tell. Amy Adams is the fresh faced, ignorant girl who seemingly came from under a rock in the Midwest, and Viola Davis is the mother of the boy who may or may not have been abused by the priest.

A truly great assembly of actors, but overacting is all of their downfall. With the exception of Davis, I never for a minute forgot who I was seeing on screen. It was Hoffman and Streep giving their all for an Oscar nomination, never a sister or a priest. The dialogue is sharp, but there is always a sense that this adaptation should have stayed on the stage. It doesn't make the transition to film very smoothly.

There is a lot of buzz about Viola Davis' performance, and she does a wonderful job for the 5 minutes that she's on the screen, but it is not the runny nose and tears that has won over critics as much as what her character says. It is shocking and jolting, but not particularly unique or indicative of a seasoned thespian. What I mean is that the dialogue and character gives her the edge here. Any actress in that role would have received the recognition based solely on the character's slightly simple perspective.

The story itself lacks any real conviction (no pun intended) and has very little depth regarding the plot, or the character development. I never saw the stage version, but I could see how it would be a very compelling play. Unfortunately, it should have stayed that way.

I have become skeptical of individuals who write, direct, adapt, etc. their own work for the screen. More often than not, it just lacks a fresh perspective that would add more weight to the final product. Very few can do it successfully on a regular basis, and John Patrick Shanley is not one of them. Just a side note - this is his second directorial film - the first being Joe Versus the Volcano in 1990 (which coincidentally holds a spot on my all-time worst movies list).

Hoffman and Streep are wonderful - don't get me wrong. They always are. Davis and Adams, I'm not so sure are deserving of their Golden Globe nominations, but I haven't seen all of the movies for comparison, so it would be presumptuous to conclude that.

Bottom line - this is an intriguing story, but falls flat on the big screen. I was disappointed to say the least. 6/10.