Doubt

Doubt opens with Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) delivering a sermon on the bond of shared uncertainty during a public crisis, such as the aftermath of the JFK assassination, and how we should empathize with our neighbor who may be experiencing equally powerful but private feelings of doubt in his or her own life. I can't think of a more blatant way of smacking the viewer with the theme of your movie, but it actually works just fine here. After all, Father Flynn is only human and he can choose his sermon topics as he sees fit.

The thorn in Father Flynn's side is Sister Aloysius played by Meryl Streep who I normally am not a huge fan of (blasphemy, I know), but she is masterful here and much deserving of her impending Oscar nomination. Sister Aloysius believes Father Flynn is up to no good, for no other real reason than she believes it. The story is nearly that simple. The characters are very strong and the performances all top notch. My favorite though is one that will most likely be left out of the Oscar race (though she was Golden Globe nominated) and that is Amy Adams. She shows her range here, breaking from normally more flamboyant performances to play the demure Sister James who makes even other nuns seem like hedonist sinners.

Overall, the story falls just a little flat, but I enjoyed living in this world and wished I could have spent more time with the characters... even Sister Aloysius.