Doubt (2008) DVD

1964. St. Nicolas School, The Bronx. A suggestion of impropriety with alter boy Donald has inflamed the already tense relationship between Philip Seymour Hoffman’s progressive Father Flynn and his uptight nemesis Sister Aloysius, played by Meryl Streep. Echoing Ron Howard’s tepid direction of ‘Frost/Nixon’, director Shanley belies the theatrical origins of his own screenplay with a film which is cinematically flat, and driven entirely by its dialogue. First staged in 2004, as scandal rocked the Catholic Church, the film asks a number of questions of how such abuse could occur, and makes the suggestion that it was in part enabled through parent’s faith in the integrity of these august institutions, and propogated under eyes blinded by a policy of don’t ask, don’t tell. Shanley remains best known as a writer, his contribution to the screenplay for ‘Moonstruck’ considerably more successful than a forgettable directorial debut with ‘Joe Versus The Volcano’, and his limited visual vocabulary is evident both in the relentless dutch angled framing of his protagonists and a veritable barrage of metaphor, the camera reinforcing the drama through resting on everything from blown light bulbs and shaking hands to religious iconography and wind-swept and rain sodden outdoor spaces. Thankfully, the ambiguity of the play remains intact, with the narrative tethered first to the liberal priest Flynn, cast initially as a breath of fresh air amongst the fearsome battleaxes, and later to the straight laced disciplinarian Sister Aloysius, as her allegations appear to bear fruit. The appearance of the scene-stealing Viola Davis, as Donald’s mother, further complicates proceedings, and sets up a bold ending which clouds rather than clarifies those initial suspicions, neatly leaving the audience to their own doubts.

Kingsley Marshall