Doubt poster & wallpaper

Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams

Set in 1964, this film, based on Director John Patrick Shanley's play of the same name, centers on a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him of abusing a black student. He denies the charges, ...( read more  read more... )and much of the quick-fire dialogue that follows tackles themes of religion, morality, and authority.

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75% liked it

137,473 ratings

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77% liked it

204 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 44 min.

Directed by: John Patrick Shanley

Release Date: December 12, 2008

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DVD Release Date: April 7, 2009

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Meryl Streep in Doubt doubt poster MERYL STREEP Viola Davis in Doubt Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt Doubt Doubt Amy Adams in Doubt Viola Davis in Doubt Meryl Streep & Amy Adams in Doubt Amy Adams in Doubt Meryl Streep in Doubt Meryl Streep in Doubt Viola Davis in Doubt Doubt Doubt Doubt
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Flixster Reviews (12,149)

  • stuartb1234
    October 7, 2009
    stuartb1234
    Decent thriller which is brilliantly acted by all those in it.
  • RiderOfTheStorms
    October 3, 2009
    RiderOfTheStorms
    THe performances and the writing of this film is nothing short of amazing
  • binky013
    September 28, 2009
    binky013
    Okay, this is a test. Name the last film you saw where that Catholic Church came out smelling like a rose. You have 10 seconds . . . . . . . . . . Time's up. Me, I can't think of one -- although I did see Rossellini's The Flowers of St. Francis (Francesco, giullare di Dio)...( read more) last night, so that's one borderline case -- feels like a bad title translation, huh?

    Well, Doubt is going to do nothing to bolster the reputation of the Catholic Church. It's an ugly movie with a cheesy did-it-happen "suspense" motif -- and who cares anyway? Like Morgan Freeman, Meryl Streep can automatically class up any project, no matter how dismal a piece of Borat it may be, and she definitely works her "aura" magic for this thing, casting her energetic glow of intelligence over the whole superficial mess. Even with delivering the cheesiest line of the whole project at the very end, she still manages to keep you from laughing at the tortured way she employs the final word "doubt(s)" to tie into the title -- just in case you forgot what the title was while this movie bored you to sleep. Two stars for Streep.
  • katharinec
    July 18, 2009
    katharinec
    OMG! This or Rachel Getting Married should have gotten best picture. What a cast, what incredible acting, what incredible dynamics, what subtext, what tensions, so many themes, what an important topic, what ambiance, gosh - I've seen this twice and I loved it both times. AWESOME!
  • AgentLexi2132
    July 12, 2009
    AgentLexi2132
    ''I have doubts. I have such doubts.''

    Set in 1964, Doubt centers on a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him of abusing a black student. He denies the charges, and much of the play's quick-fire dialogue tackles themes of religion, morality, and authority.

    Me...( read more)ryl Streep: Sister Aloysius Beauvier

    ''Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. When you are lost, you are not alone.''

    Doubt is the mystery of whether or not a priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is guilty of molesting an altar boy. The priest's primary accuser is Sister Aloysius, the tyrannical principal of the Catholic school that provides Doubt its location. Watching Hoffman and Streep spar is like watching two professional craftsman at their peak, and fans of exquisite acting should waste no time in seeing the battle of wills and the wrath of unknowing . The movie purposely never clarifies the ambiguity of the charges, is in fact Hoffman's priest truly guilty of something, or is Sister Aloysius simply on a mad witch hunt? Streep's character is the most complex and haunted. From one perspective, she's a nearly maniacal dryed up angry, husk of a woman, intent on ruining a man's life and career for no clear reason. However, if her accusations are legitimate, she's a sort of hero, demanding justice from a male-dominated world bent on being superior, bent on following the rules and keeping secrets, secret regardless of fact or indeed fiction. Streep's performance is the real masterpiece here, she is in fire in and years of experience are on show for us to marvel at in Doubt.
    A strict taskmaster, her character relishes her role as the upholder of tradition, rejecting such modern devices as ballpoint pens and the singing of secular songs at Christmas like Frosty the Snowman which she equates with pagan magic.

    According to a report commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, over four thousand clerics were accused of sexual abuse during the past fifty years. Although approximately thirty percent of these accusations were not investigated because they were unsubstantiated, given the proclivity of the bishops to cover up these incidents, the figures are widely suspected to be underestimated. What may be lost in the discussion of statistics about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, however, is an understanding of the humanity of the people involved or the complexities of the circumstances.

    This matter is covered in Doubt, based on Shanley's personal experiences at Catholic School, the film explores not only the issue of possible sexual abuse but conservative versus progressive religious values and how far one can rely on suspicion in the absence of proof. Set in 1964, one year after the Kennedy assassination, Sister Aloysius Beauvier is the dragon lady of St. Nicholas school in the Bronx.

    Father Flynn: Where is your compassion?
    Sister Aloysius: Nowhere you can get at it.

    Amy Adams receives the pivotal role of a young, innocent nun who first brings her suspicions about the priest to her superior, and then sees them become Frankenstein's monster. In many ways, Adams' character is us, the audience, placed in the position of having to come to a conclusion on our own when empirical evidence is lacking. Adams' role is the least showy, but she does much with it.
    Also Viola Davis, who, in merely five minutes, decimates the audience with some shocking conclusions of her own as the altar boy's mother. The insulated, hushed world of the Catholic Church is blown wide open by this struggling mother, who's seen more of the world than any of the priests and nuns sheltered behind the church's walls, and who puts the film's running themes of racial and gender inequality into harsh perspective.

    The central battle in Doubt in many forms comes down to each individual's view of the world and his or her ability to accept the ambiguity of day to day life. There's a lot about the world we will never know and much about our futures we'll never be able to shape or plan. So what's better -- anticipating the worst and therefore being prepared when it comes? or believing in the best and running the risk of being disappointed when it fails to arise? The story makes us wonder, and rather than give us answers needlessly, it let's our minds conclude our own solutions.

    Father Brendan Flynn: I can fight you.
    Sister Aloysius Beauvier: You will lose.
  • fantasticrice
    November 19, 2009
    fantasticrice
    This was a little too melodramatic for my tastes, but stellar acting all around. I think the screenplay could have benefited from leaving us with a little more doubt. I felt like the elucidation was at odds with the theme, as well as making the story more polarizing.
  • gpanou78
    November 7, 2009
    gpanou78
    A two hours time lost.
    Awful movie!
  • theloneowl
    November 6, 2009
    theloneowl
    Necessito di rivederlo in lingua originale, in ogni caso il solo fatto di vedere Meryl e Philip recitare insieme mi rende una persona felice.
  • tatumchar
    November 3, 2009
    tatumchar
    I have to admit at first I thought this was going to be somewhat slow moving and boring. The actors made that impossible to think, I thought it was a great movie.
  • fcpgirl1893
    November 1, 2009
    fcpgirl1893
    Great acting by Meryl Streep.

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Critic Reviews

February 5, 2009
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

The dialogue is vitamin-rich. "Where's your compassion, Sister?" appeals Hoffman. "Nowhere you can reach it," ripostes Streep. The actress shows so much culinary art in her line-readings that an Oscar... full review

January 3, 2009
Mike McGranaghan, The Aisle Seat

If you like hypothetical, debate-fueling ideas, then Doubt is one of the year's must-see movies. full review

December 30, 2008
Michael Sragow, The Baltimore Sun

Doubt, it appears, can be just as simplistic and dull in drama as dogma. full review

December 25, 2008
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle

A collection of acting styles from the broad to the contained and the exacting to the unrestrained create an unevenness of tone and interpretation. full review

December 19, 2008
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

Doubt asks hard questions, and we dutifully squirm in reply. full review

December 15, 2008
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

John Patrick Shanley's film of his every-award-under-God-winning play Doubt is a heavy slab of dramaturgy, dark-toned and somber, yet intense as hell. full review

December 12, 2008
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

Doubt offers up the crackling pleasures of performance and a narrative that snaps shut like a mousetrap. It's the movie equivalent of a rousing night at the theater. full review

December 12, 2008
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Doubt strikes a deeper chill in our hearts than the creepiest thriller. full review

December 12, 2008
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

As a consideration of faith and propriety, the movie never managed to boil my blood or break my heart. full review

December 11, 2008
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Nothing in Doubt -- which Shanley directed, adapting his own Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play -- is certain, definitive or clear. Least of all the filmmaking. full review

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