Something to watch tonight: Wednesday 22 January
Doubt (Shanley, 2009)
On this day 16 years ago, I posted this Capital Times review of the terrific drama, Doubt – John Patrick Shanley’s adaptation of his own hit play.
In the Bronx in 1964, a progressive young Catholic priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is accused by harridan headmistress Meryl Streep of abusing 12-year-old pupil Donald Miller. In a series of lengthy scenes between Hoffman, Streep, witness Sister James (Amy Adams) and the boy’s mother (little-known Viola Davis more than holding her own in this heavyweight company) the investigation is played out.
Only it isn’t really an investigation – just a hunch followed by political and emotional manoeuvring to provoke the downfall of a possibly innocent man. There are many complexities to take account of: Miller is the only black child in a school full of Irish and Italian kids, he’s a sensitive soul looking for a father figure, Hoffman insists he is simply innocently tending his flock. None of this is enough for the sour old Principal who believes her knowledge of human nature trumps all.
When Doubt was playing on Broadway many critics drew parallels with the Bush II rush to war in Iraq, based on faith rather than facts (which Shanley hasn’t denied), but with a little distance the broader implications of faith versus doubt are allowed some air.
It’s sad to look back on a time when we thought we would have Philip Seymour Hoffman forever but also instructive to see Viola Davis described as “little-known”. I don’t think that was true even then, except to goofs like me. From memory she doesn’t just “hold her own”, she all-but steals the film in her few scenes.
Also reviewed that week in the Capital Times: Will Smith misfire Seven Pounds (“… suffers from a maddening script and, frankly, a totally misguided conception which someone should have put a stop to much sooner. Yet, it continues to look beautiful, and the performances remain first rate, right up until the most lunatic of loose ends are tied up and you are released once again, bewildered, in to the Wellington sunshine”) and Italian drama My Brother is an Only Child (“When it comes, the twist is like a kidney punch, sucking all the air out of you. You’ve grown to like all these characters with their passionate, expressive, emotional Italian-ness and by the end you find you really care – something that the clever-clever Seven Pounds was never likely to achieve.”)
Where to watch Doubt
Aotearoa, Canada, India, : Streaming on Netflix
Australia: Digital rental
Ireland & UK: Streaming on Netflix and Paramount+
USA: Streaming on Paramount+