Doubt
Remember how Kirk Lazarus, Robert Downey Jr's character in Tropic Thunder, starred in the outrageous gay monk flick Satan's Alley? Yeah, I'm cynical, but Doubt did remind me of award-baiting drama crossed with M. Night Shyamalan's much-maligned The Village. (Perhaps it's the vaguely Amish nuns' habits or Amy Adams's formal enunciation.)
Philip Seymour Hoffman is likeable '60s priest Father Flynn, whom inexperienced teacher Sister James (Adams) suspects of conducting a perverted relationship with Donald, the school's only black student. Without a shred of proof, iron-fisted principal Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) decides Flynn must be ousted.
Adapted from director John Patrick Shanley's gajillion-award-winning play, Doubt is theatrically tense and claustrophobic. An ill wind literally blows! A light bulb blows, too - a sign from God? The dialogue is tailor-made for award ceremony clips - there's one climactic moment when Streep, pale-faced, pursed-lipped, with grotesquely pink-rimmed eyes, totally loses her shit at Hoffman. I was afraid she wasn't just chewing the scenery, but also about to devour the entire audience.
So, I'm cynical. It's a brilliant film: crisply shot, with pitch-perfect acting. Shanley sows doubt in the audience's minds, too - who should we side with? And there's a devastating sting in the tail that will leave you most unsettled.
Format: Cinema
Mood: Make a therapy appointment now
Keywords: Film, Philip Seymour Hoffman
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