![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ia.media-imdb.com\/images\/M\/MV5BMTY4NDk0NzE4Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjk1NDE4MQ@@._V1._CR0,0,1366,1366_SS80_.jpg\")
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When steadfast certainty collides with unrepentant righteousness, a doubt is born. And in the hands of a skilled author, such conflict makes for one hell of a film. John Patrick Shanley has exploited this situation–and done it beyond compare–for a his magnum opus, Doubt. The plot is elegant, yet simple.<\/p>\n
An old guard nun perceives a transgression by an up and coming priest involving one a middle school students under her supervision. When she questions the priest, the sparks fly.<\/p>\n
Had any other actors besides Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman attempted this material, it would have been larceny. God bless them both for A-plus performances. Believable and credible, Meryl and Phillip deliver the goods.<\/p>\n
More impressive than the acting, the movie transcends the usual snares that derail play adaptations. Namely a key plot point that sets the story in motion occurs off-stage, “before” the story. Often the genesis–when it is revealed–proves more interesting than anything in the production, which is why I dislike most plays. Good casting and direction often compensates for such mangling of plot; however this is generally a distraction, clever though it may be.<\/p>\n
There is no such ruse at work in Doubt. It delivers the goods, scene after scene.<\/p>\n
What works about Doubt:<\/p>\n
1) Cast. Hoffman deserves an Oscar and a Golden Globe.<\/p>\n
2) Direction. Kudos for making something that appears on the surface religious, so secular and universal.<\/p>\n
3) Texture. Lots of little subtleties develop and demonstrate character.<\/p>\n
What to keep in mind:<\/p>\n
1) Like a play, there are less scenes than in a typical movie. At the same, those scenes trend on the longish side.<\/p>\n
Verdict: Theater full-price. Buy the DVD. Oscars all around.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When steadfast certainty collides with unrepentant righteousness, a doubt is born. And in the hands of a skilled author, such conflict makes for one hell of a film. John Patrick Shanley has exploited this situation–and done it beyond compare–for a his magnum opus, Doubt. The plot is elegant, yet simple. An old guard nun perceives […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews","category-multimedia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.samhilliard.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.samhilliard.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.samhilliard.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.samhilliard.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.samhilliard.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11219"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/www.samhilliard.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11254,"href":"http:\/\/www.samhilliard.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11219\/revisions\/11254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.samhilliard.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.samhilliard.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.samhilliard.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}