Friday
12Dec2008
Movie Review - 'Doubt'
Friday, December 12, 2008 at 12:41AM | Doubt
Starring Meryl Streep, Philip
Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis  |
The
beauty of
Meryl Streep's performance as Sister Aloysius in
Doubt is not in her tough-as-nails demeanor nor
is it in the bluster you expect to find (and receive) from an adaptation of such
an emotional Tony-winning play. The beauty of Streep's performance, why she so
richly deserves her third Academy Award, is in where Streep pulls her punches.
Most actors, even great ones like her co-star
Philip Seymour
Hoffman, can get too invested in the moment, and what begins as a
disagreement because an all-out shouting match, because drama is all about,
well, drama.But Streep knows when a performance ends and when a character
should take over, and she probably knows it instinctively by now. Her Sister Aloysius scares the devil out of Catholic schoolchildren, intimidates her subordinates, and makes a priest question his moral ground, but she does so without ever acting on anything.
There is no debate over which performance captivates us throughout this film; Streep has not performed this brilliantly since Angels in America, and even that is quite a compliment, because she hasn't exactly been mailing it in. I have read criticisms about her accent in the film, which is a bit shallow given everything else there is to admire in her work. I was reminded of Geraldine McEwan's scary nun in The Magdalene Sisters, but Streep never has to raise a finger to elicit the same fear or respect.
One must be careful revealing details about the story; all that matters is there are two sides to every story, and Sister Aloysius believes hers steadfastly and Father Flynn (Hoffman) isn't backing down, either. Caught in the middle is the kindly Sister James (Amy Adams), who hasn't the backbone of her superior and is somewhat charmed by Father Flynn's gregarious and progressive demeanor.
The last 45 minutes of Doubt consists of three key scenes, all rife with conflict. The middle scene of the three is the film's signature moment, a conversation between Sister Aloysius and the mother of the school's only black student (Viola Davis). You can imagine how hard it must be to steal a scene from Meryl Streep on her worst day, much less in one of the best performances of her remarkable career. Davis changes the complexion of the film entirely, and in a way you don't ever expect if you're unfamiliar with the story.
And Streep, to her great credit, allows Davis the scene, not because it's a showcase moment for a fellow actor but because Sister Aloysius, for once, is unsure of what to do. It's the creation of the character not the creator that is on display throughout this film.
Perhaps Doubt is a better play. It's still a hell of a movie, particularly if you like strong personalities and loads of conflict. But it doesn't build as well as it could, and it's obviously pretty wordy. However, you won't find too many performances in Streep's league this year, and missing it would be a real shame.
Reader Comments (2)
Plus, who wants to see Amy Adams all covered up in a habit?
This will top the movie charts if it already hasn't I enjoyed the intensity and moral dilemmas in this film.
I Hyped Doubt on Everhype and gave it 90% which I think is fairly accurate.
http://www.everhype.com/hyper/thebitch?X=M850
I wouldn’t mind getting some opinions on it . If you get on there, rate me a 5 & request friendship.