Doubt (2008)

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The film is called "Doubt". But what kind of doubt are we talking about? About Sister Aloysius' doubt in virtues of Father Flynn? Throughout the whole movie, we think so. But the last monologue of Maryl Streep turns everything upside down: the title of the film is about the doubt that arises in a person, when he or she is not sure of the correctness of his actions. Especially when these actions are resolute and categorical.We often have doubts about others: in the motives of their actions, in their rightness, in their decency. And to have doubts about people, to give them an assessment, to judge them - has almost become the norm in modern society. But what moral right do we have to judge people? This movie makes us think about it. In an incredibly difficult situation is Sister Aloysius, who suspects Father Flynn in inadmissible attention to the student of the school. And the viewer, trying to ask himself the question "What would I have done in such a situation?", would fail to find an answer. The price of the mistake is high. And it is doubt that makes it even worse.

Doubt makes you recheck the seemingly hard facts, the evidence, to scroll a particular episode several times from different angles, to remember words, to repeat them, to solve a particular emotion. And doubt again. Does the question of any right to maim the lives of others, if it is baseless and unsubstantiated? "Doubt"is a film by American Director John Patrick Shanley. The atmosphere of the film nervously suspicious, there are many doubts. Black-brown, dark, almost no bright colors. The story is about a headmistress of the closed Church school, Eloise (Meryl Streep), a woman devoted to the Lord and his principles. Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), is a man with a questionable, but not a sinful past, a loving and understanding children. The action takes place in 1964 in the United States. The new pastor of the Church, is a teacher in the school at the Church, father Flynn with all his progressive vision about a new Church, close to the people, makes the headmaster look at him with caution, with a certain distrust. The themes of his sermons sometimes had a strange subtext! Once, one of the sisters becomes a witness to a situation that casts doubt on the reputation of father Flynn. From this moment the quiet film turns into an acute psychological drama that keeps in tension until the credits roll. Throughout the movie Eloise lost in a vague doubt, suspecting father Flynn, the priest at the school, in the depraved actions with the only black student of the school. She doesn't share her suspicions directly, but severely punishes all school teachers to report any oddities in the attitude of the priest. She goes too far with her suspicions, without a single evidence strongly believes in the guilt of father Flynn. Young and naive sister James looks completely confused, she didn't know what to believe. The saddest thing is that all of these events come from good intentions, evil must be punished, but does it? Fascinated, sister Eloise had forgotten that any doubt has two options, and only one of them is correct, but what? Fifty-fifty. The priest in the end cannot withstand such pressure and voluntarily leave the school. And only after a certain time after that, sister Eloise confesses to sister James that she had no evidence against the priest, and again her heart's not in it, and whether it was received... In fact, the denouement of the film still remains a mystery. Was father Flynn guilty or not - it is not clear, the Director has left us his own question - what do you think? Who is right and who is wrong? We have to find out the answer to this question... The film is good. In all senses. Just watch it!

I called my review "The decision" because it doesn't matter if a person doubts or not finally he/she makes a decision. And this movie showed us one concrete decision of one person.The movie is philosophical, It shows how people influence lifes of each other motivated only by some inside things. How can we decide for other people when we don't have any proofs? This question was the main one in my head after watching this movie. This movie made me think of influence on other people more than of doubts. All people doubt I think. We have the reasons for it because we have so many variants in life. But not all people show it. This is an example of some personal desire to prove the idea you have (I'm talking about Aloysius). Many sides of a person are shown in this movie and it's good to see and think of yourself. After watching it I had many questions to myself. I would recomend this movie to people who want to find questions but not answers. Personally for me I can't answer if Aloysius was right or not. And I can't answer some personal questions after it as well.

How good is Doubt? To my mind the film is pretty good. But to be honest, I don't like such films where church is taken as a whole scene. I have no connections to the Catholic Church and the plot is too slow developed. The film takes place in a St. Nicholas school led by Sister Aloysius. At the very beginning of the film Father Brendan Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) preaches a sermon to his congregation in which he asks the question, "What do you do when you're not sure?" There are two answers to this question. You could acknowledge doubt, exploring it as best you can, accept that there may be things we can never know, and live with the ambiguity that so often is a characteristic of human life. Or you could retreat into a dogmatic certainty, suppressing any doubts, and act forcefully to live as though your understanding is the absolute truth - sometimes wreaking great evil in the process. This choice between certainty and doubt is a central theme of the film. At the center of modest setting is a duet play of two outstanding actors Meryl Streep and Philip Hoffman. They are capable of creating persuasive characters with no make-up and unchanging clothes. The scenes between them are thrilling and catching from start to finish. Philip Seymour Hoffman is always good and he is in the centre of the events which are happened in the film. He looks like an ordinary priest; however Sister Aloysius accuses him in having strange relationships with one of the students. Their acting is shaded by a sweet and naive Sister James by Amy Adams. Like an audience she reflects our own misgivings from one strong figure to another. Her love and need for simplicity is heartbreaking. And Viola Davis as a mother of a trouble boy performs a powerful and painful monologue which sheds some light on the matter but still doesn't offer an easy solution. I consider if there is more than one setting (church), the film will be more interesting and eye-catching. The actors are quite good but the plot is rather strange. There are no actions, dynamics, only annoying jump from loud music and conversations to silence. I think I should watch it again to get the whole picture and understand it thoroughly. When you watch a film several times, you always find something new. I recommend this film to grown up people.