Doubt

I had a very interesting experience after seeing the film version of John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, Doubt, which was adapted for screen and directed by Shanley.  Doubt tells the story of an older nun, played by Meryl Streep, who is convinced that the progressive priest (Phillip Seymore Hoffman) is guilty of molesting the only black child in the Catholic school where they work.  My husband and I both felt that the film was much less ambiguous than the play and made us clearly believe that the priest was guilty.  Then I checked with two friends who had seen the film, and they both agreed that the film was less ambiguous than the play, but they believed it showed that the priest was not guilty.  So I guess that Shanley accomplished what he set out to accomplish, which was to explore the concept of doubt on many levels.  The film is beautifully acted by Streep and Hoffman, with outstanding supporting performances by Amy Adams, luminous as the younger, more innocent nun, and Viola Davis as the boy’s mother.  I had seen the play twice and still found the movie riveting.