Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here. As a pure acting exercise, the latest work from writer-director John Patrick Shanley (based on his play) is near flawless. Watching the likes of Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams bob and weave around each other is this tale of suspicion, paranoia, guilt and a good old-fashioned witch-hunt is a damn-near flawless experience. But DOUBT as a film that you might be tempted to pay money to see has problems, primarily with Shanley's script, which seems rushed and a little untrue to itself as things begin wrapping themselves up at the climax and ill-fitting epilogue. DOUBT is a movie that I've been back and forth on since seeing it, and I probably need to see it again to solidify my feelings on it. But the fact remains that a work like this coming out at this time of year is custom-made to get Oscar nominations; it probably will get a couple. But the sad fact remains that films about priests getting accused of molesting young boys is not nearly as shocking as it once was, so a film that features that subject needs to add something new to the mix to justify it getting made in the first place. The newness of DOUBT, I suppose, is the source of the accusation--in this case the first whisper of wrong doing on the part of Father Flynn (Hoffman) comes from one of his greatest supporters, a young nun named Sister James (Adams). And the film's best scenes come when the story's grand inquisitor, Sister Aloysius (Streep), is relentlessly grilling anyone who steps in her chamber. Set in the Bronx at St. Nicholas Catholic School circa 1964, what is most interesting about DOUBT is that the victim and the strange behavior he exhibits that sends Sister James to the boss nun are almost never seen, and maybe that's part of what makes this story so intriguing — this isn't a film about the alleged victim; it's about the accuser and the accused. Shanley (who won an Oscar 20 years ago for writing MOONSTRUCK, and whose only other directing gig was 1990's JOE VS. THE VOLCANO) offers up many nice details about the setting, the time, and the other nuns and students at the school, but really the entire production is built around a few confrontations between Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn. She attacks with a bit of information or a baseless allegation; he counters with a perfectly reasonable explanation or outright denial. She lies or stretches the truth about evidence she has; he calls her bluff or flinches. It's an interesting battle of wills, but it's also a whole lot of huff and puff without a substantial payoff or resolution. I don't need all of my movies to end definitively with all questions answered and all loose ends tied into cute little red bows. But I need something--anything--I can sink my teeth into. The final battle royale between the nun with the hearty New York accent and the relatively young priest who has been transferred to three different parishes in the last five years doesn't feel genuine. One of them gives up far too easily, and I didn't buy that for a second. I liked the way Father Flynn turns the tables on Sister Aloysius to uncover why she is such a taskmaster and so afraid of the desperate need to modernize the church in light of the changing social consciousness of the times. In the end, the power of the acting trumps the shortcomings of the screenplay. And while most of the attention come awards season will focus on Streep and Hoffman, Amy Adams puts in another stellar performance as the jumpy mouse Sister James. She's a being of raw skittish energy who regrets voicing her suspicions the minute she does so. The film is as much about her getting caught between these two black holes, each trying to pull her onto their side of this spiritual and moral war. She's our entry point into this flawed but no less explosive tale, and in the hands of a lesser actress, the material would have been fumbled. A few pointed reservations aside, I'm still recommending DOUBT for the piercing performances and the still-relevant (if not entirely untapped) subject matter. I'll give the film points for showing us this material from a unique perspective and label it a minor, albeit flawed, triumph. -- Capone capone@aintitcoolmail.com
