Quick Review: Doubt by John Patrick Shanley

None will argue that this year has been a slow year for movies as it has, however through the rough a few good and some great films have come forward. Doubt, I believe, is one of the great films. While Doubt isn't breaking a whole lot of ground in terms of filmmaking or storytelling it is a well told story with four incredible performances. That is what this movie is about, the performances. It is rare that every single main performance is matched by the high caliber of the others, but this is the case in Doubt. Meryl Streep playing Sister Aloysius as an overbearing crow of a nun is delightful, she is powerful, believable, and at times, few they may be, vulnerable. It isn't much to mention her ability in acting as she always comes through. The same can be said of Phillip Seymour Hoffman who never ceases to impress and continues a beautiful resume here as the head priest Father Flynn. It is, in my opinion, the two supporting roles that are the true victors. Amy Adams as Sister James is another oscar worthy performance, Adams has continually impressed since Junebug even in her tamer fare, but here she is a woman grounded in good-spirit and love who is losing her spirit to a woman with a heart as hard as stone. She is gripping and loveable is perfect in her supporting role as she always leaves the screen for Streep and Hoffman to rule. The final role, the key role, the emotional crux of the entire movie and probably the single best performance I have seen this year is in the 5, 10, 15, 20 minute screen presence of Viola Davis. Davis as the mother of the boy Father Flynn is said to have inappropriate relations with is heartbreaking. Her scene is short, it is where Sister Aloysius informs her of her suspicions, that is it and yet from the moment I saw the trailer it was her tiny glimpse in the trailer that made me want to see this film. It is hard to describe her performance in superlatives as there are many tiny pieces to a very full character she creates from the slight movements of eyebrows to her eye movements, body gestures, tone, when she cries, how much she cries. It is astounding to watch such oomph come from so small a role. Overall Doubt is a great work of performance storytelling, it is about the people not the story, and in terms of the actors it is like watching gladiators fight a fight where only one can triumph but all are able.