Doubt Review by Anna

Doubt

By Anna Anderson

Doubt; the feeling of uncertainty about the truth, reality or nature of something. People always have doubts but what if your doubts are what are stopping you from doing what you feel you must do? Will you be able to look past those uncertainties or will you let your doubts stop you?

By Miramax films, Doubt (2008) was directed by John Patrick Shanley, who also wrote the screen play and the play. This PG-13 movie has such actors as Phillip Seymour Hoffman who played Father Flynn, Amy Adams who played Sister James, and Meryl Streep who played Sister Aloysius Beauvier.

Doubt is set in a St. Nicholas catholic school in the Bronx in 1964 during a time of social and political change. The school has accepted its first black student and the charismatic Father Flynn takes a special interest in the young boy, Donald Miller. After Sister James, a young innocent teacher at the school, goes to the strict principal of the school Sister Aloysius Beauvier about her concerns regarding Father Flynn’s interest in Donald, Sister Aloysius grows suspicious of the priest. Sister Aloysius goes after Father Flynn with no evidence but her certainty.

A key moment in this movie is when Sister Aloysius speaks with Donald Miller’s mother. It gave a sense of Donald home life and gave some reason to his behavior. Sister Aloysius tells Mrs. Miller about her suspicions and Mrs. Miller explains that it doesn’t matter because all they have to do is wait until June and then Donald could graduate. She also explains about Donald’s “Nature” and that his father beats him because of it. This scene was vital to understand Donald’s character more.

This movie is really did leave it up to the audience to decide whether Father Flynn is guilty or not. All you really see is the interaction between the characters and the confrontation. It would have been nice to have a little more clarity on what was really going on between Donald Miller and Father Flynn because, just like the other characters in the movie, you really don’t know. Doubt is really not for the younger audience because the controversy of the relationship between the priest and the young boy. Another reason is that the younger audience may not exactly be able to understand the movie or what’s going on. Personally I don’t think this movie is all that great and I wouldn’t really recommend it.