Doubt

Doubt is a film adaptation of the same-named stage play. The film stars a trio of Oscar nominated actors: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. The plot involves the Catholic Church, specifically P.S. Hoffman's (the priest) relationship to a young male student. Streep and Adams are two nuns (the tough one and innocent one, respectively) who attempt to unravel the truth about the priest and the student.

Kinsey and I were both looking forward to this film, specifically because of the cast, and we both came out of it a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, the acting was good, especially P.S. Hoffman (I think Meryl might've pushed it too hard). But overall, the film was pedestrian and forgettable. The director, John Patrick Shanley (who wrote the play and the screenplay), attempts to jazz up the film with the occasional canted camera angle and an overdone sense of visual metaphor, but there's no rhyme or reason for any of it. In my opinion, he should've taken the approach of Ron Howard, director of the film version of the stage play Frost/Nixon (which I haven't seen), and let the acting be the focus.

And as for the main conflict, well, the answer seemed fairly obvious to me. The film doesn't give the audience a straight answer of did-he-or-didn't-he and tries to place seeds of doubt (hence the title) in your mind, but I didn't really buy it.

For me, the saving grace of this film was Philip Seymour Hoffman, who has become such a good actor that I will see any film he is in (I sat through Synecdoche, NY, didn't I?). The guy is so natural and is able to envelope such an array of different characters, it's really astounding. He strikes the opposite tone of Meryl Streep in this film, who really forces the representation of her character as the stereotypical "to be feared" nun (Kinsey would vehemently disagree with me on this note). Their scenes together are still the best ones in the movie, however.

Like I said before, Doubt was disappointing and I doubt (ha, ha) that it'll stand out in my memory for very long.

Wade: 3 stars
Kinsey: 3.5 stars

Anthony: 3.5 stars

Ashley: 3 stars