Movies Reviews
Doubt - Movie Review
By Anne Brodie Dec 13, 2008, 15:09 GMT
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Older Talkback
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I really enjoyed Doubt....it resulted in heavy duty post show discussion....resulting in arguments. I gotta say that I'm on the Father's side. Agreements were reached that this being such a wonderful democratic society we'll go with the majority. Hand in your ballots please. Remember: God is watching.
i loved this movie! i thought it was great. Meryl Streep is an amazing actress...compare this role to the one she staged in Mama Mia! She is such a diverse actress. I wasn't so sure at the end of the movie that Father did it, but I have come up with this conclusion: he did something. Otherwise, he would have fought, and not resigned from his position. And he obviously had something to hide, especially when Sister lied about knowing about his past. I'm not totally sure he did what everyone thought he did, but he DEFINITELY did something.
Overall, fantastic movie. 5 Stars! :)
A fine movie. The question is posed immediately with the sermon, whether or not the priest was speaking of reality and of his own reflections on his experience, or of something hypothetical. Sr, Aloysius 'knew' that intuitively. So she gently asked questions of her community. Though hard evidence was lacking, there was plently of circumstantial evidence to keep her assumptions fed...even when the child's mother startled her with the family's circumstances. Sr. Aloysius took her responsibility, to herself, to the parish and school and to Fr. Flynn.
I really did enjoy the movie, especially because I lived in the Bronx and went to a catholic grammar during the 1960s. It brought back memories about some priest I encountered and some gossip I heard, but yet nothing was proven. The performances are outatanding and I give it 4 stars.
Excellent movie in all categories...especially directing and acting. Having said that, I had no doubt that the priest was guilty. people seeing this movie are predisposed in their judgment, I believe, as am I. I attended four Catholic grammar schools and one Catholic girls high school during the 50's and early 60's. Streep's portrayal is right on for her age and position of authority in the early 60's, with Vatican II having just been completed, bringing about many unwelcome changes to the establishment. I have also worked for a diocese for 13 years (as a lay director in the 80's) and know the politics that goes on among the clergy. Nuns were and continue to be 2nd class citizens in the hierarchy of the Church. We now know what was being covered up in the priesthood in the 60's and 70s. It was refreshing to see a nun try to bring the innapropriate relationship to the Monsignor's attention, only to be ignored. Some viewers may say that the evidence was circumstantial. But there was evidence and for the the priest to leave and be 'promoted' to pastor of a parish and school, clinched my belief in his quilt. That's how it was done back then! Kudos to all involved in this powerful movie.
Does anyone know where did Sr. Aloysius Beauier originally came from?
She sounds like she had a Boston accent. It did not sound like a Bronx accent.
If anyone knows please let me know Thanks
Having grown up in the catholic system in the 60's, Meryl Streep accurately portrayed the hard nosed, inflexible, uncompromising but totally honest and principled nun.
The Priest was as guilty as sin - did you not notice his other victims like the other dark haired alter boy and Mr London? The signs of child abuse were clear in their behaviour. Mr London was pleased he was leaving. There was another boy in the congregation who looked relieved at the news.
The reason why paedophiles in the priesthood in the 60s were not identified was aptly portrayed by the lack of independent process. The good father was sent to a new school with more authority and unfettered access to a whole new range of victims.
I believe Donald Miller was dealing with his own realisation of his homosexuality and that is why he left the previous school. The Priest was a 'likeable' predator.
Doubt referred to the Nun's crisis of confidence in the catholic hierachial system and the fact she new the priest would go on to do this again without being checked- she had no doubt about her faith or the priest's guilt. The film was a very accurate reflection of the accurate school system and Meryl deserves an Oscar.
I loved this movie, Doubt. It did leave me in Doubt. I attended Catholic School for 12 years, High School in the sixties......... Yes, Ms Streep has the nun thing to a tee.
Perhaps, the Priest & mother were protecting the young student, who was gay. To betray that confidence would have been fatal for the kid. It was the sixties. Or was the priest, just moved on and promoted??? What did nuns do in those days??? We know what some of the bishops did.....
Great film.
Excellent movie! There is no doubt the priest was guilty. Three parishes in less than five years was one clue. Another was the 'good ole boy system' portrayal of Bishop/Monsignor/Priest. It was common for the bishops to simply transfer problem priests to another parish. If he were innocent he would have been outraged and saw to it the transfer of the head nun.
I for one don’t think the priest was guilty of abuse. I think the director was trying more so to say that the priest was a homosexual. That’s why he was pushed out of the other parish, that was his big secret. The director showed little hints of that...flowers in his Breviary, long fingernails, his closeness and understanding of the homosexual boy. He was afraid that this new parish and the good Sister discovered this as well. A homosexual priest, even one who is chaste, is always afraid of being seen as a homosexual. Even today, priests who have homosexual tendencies are banned from the priesthood. I think our society today automatically thinks the priest did these things because of how the media portrayed the horrible sexual abuse scandal. While even one priest committing such a heinous crime is an affront to God, keep in mind that if you gathered ALL the priests who ever were even ACCUSED of sexual abuse the statistics say is 3-4%, that’s less than teachers and Boy Scout leaders, it is equivalent to Rabbis and Protestant ministers. YET no other religion gets more affiliated with sexual abuse scandals that the Catholic Church. This is why most people will come away from this movie with that conviction that he did it, you have been conditioned to expect it. However it is my belief he was simply hiding his homosexuality JUST like the child was from his own father. Think of him as a homosexual hiding his sexuality and see the movie again...you may agree. Pax
While most would be much concerned about whether 'he did it or not,' I rather choose to veer away from such superficial issue and focus instead on what to me really the movie is centered on --- DOUBT and its accompanying consequence to people concerned.
'Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty,' as Fr. Flyn puts it. In its depiction of how potentially draining doubt can be, this film is superb!
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