Doubt (2008)

A Catholic school principal questions a priest's ambiguous relationship with a troubled young student.

Director:

John Patrick Shanley

Writers:

John Patrick Shanley (screenplay), John Patrick Shanley (play)

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 25 wins & 91 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meryl Streep	...	Sister Aloysius Beauvier
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Father Brendan Flynn
Amy Adams	...	Sister James
Viola Davis	...	Mrs. Miller
Alice Drummond	...	Sister Veronica
Audrie Neenan	...	Sister Raymond
Susan Blommaert	...	Mrs. Carson
Carrie Preston	...	Christine Hurley
John Costelloe	...	Warren Hurley
Lloyd Clay Brown	...	Jimmy Hurley
Joseph Foster	...	Donald Miller (as Joseph Foster II)
Mike Roukis	...	William London
Haklar Dezso	...	Zither Player
Frank Shanley	...	Kevin
Robert Ridgell	...	Organist

Storyline

It's 1964, St. Nicholas in the Bronx. A charismatic priest, Father Flynn, is trying to upend the school's strict customs, which have long been fiercely guarded by Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the iron-gloved Principal who believes in the power of fear-based discipline. The winds of political change are sweeping through the community, and indeed, the school has just accepted its first black student, Donald Miller. But when Sister James, a hopeful innocent, shares with Sister Aloysius her guilt-inducing suspicion that Father Flynn is paying too much personal attention to Donald, Sister Aloysius sets off on a personal crusade to unearth the truth and to expunge Flynn from the school. Now, without a shard of proof besides her moral certainty, Sister Aloysius locks into a battle of wills with Father Flynn which threatens to tear apart the community with irrevocable consequences.

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Plot Keywords:

priest | nun | boy | catholic | parish | 

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Taglines:

There is no evidence. There are no witnesses. But for one, there is no doubt.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material

Did You Know?

Trivia

The screenplay for was featured in the 2007 Blacklist, a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year.

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Goofs

When Father Flynn sits down on the bench outside next to Sister James, he shows her flowers in his book. He puts the yellow ribbon bookmark in between 2 pages. In the next camera shot, the bookmark is crossing one of the pages.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Christine Hurley: Jimmy? Come on! You're serving today.

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Connections

Featured in The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards (2009)

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Soundtracks

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Written by Edmund Hamilton Sears (uncredited) and Richard Storrs Willis (uncredited)
[Incorrectly credited as written by Richard John Cottle]
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

Spectacular, gripping, shattering

"Doubt" dares to explore one of the most compelling issues of recent years, and to do so with a completely unmanipulative perspective with no sermonizing.

The linear narrative style is refreshing, with no flashbacks and flash forwards, and no contamination of the story (set in the early 1960s) with the hindsight of recent events. It is relentless. We see the events of those days without any cinematic deus ex machina. We are not privileged to any all-showing exposition of critical events. We have only the souls of the principles as expressed in their dialog and in their faces.

With the mighty acting duo of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep, and a more than able supporting cast and superb direction, "Doubt" has dramatic fireworks without cheap gimmicks.

The final 30 seconds puts a fitting cap on the message. The effect is devastating.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doubt

Filming Locations:

Beach and Mansion Streets, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$507,226, 14 December 2008

Gross USA:

$33,446,470

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$51,699,984

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goodspeed Productions, Scott Rudin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1