Doubt

SPOILER ALERT. I will be discussing the plot and characters pretty thoroughly, so if you have not seen the movie, be warned some scenes will not be a surprise after this!

Doubt is a thoughtful movie, an interesting period piece with cars, clothes, hats and hairdos from the 1960's adding visual interest. It must be a walk down memory lane for people who attended a Catholic school in their past! The acting is wonderful, especially Merle Streep who plays Sister Aloysius, a senior nun who is the principle of a school. She is unrecognizable as the carefree dancing mom in Mama Mia. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays an appealing priest, Father Flynn, and his sermon in the first scene actually sets the theme of "doubt." The tension between these two characters, and the dilemma of the young nun, Sister James, who waffles between these two, form the bulk of the action. The dialogue is quick and cutting. I really wished several times that I watching it on DVD so I could use the subtitle feature, I didn't want to miss a single word.

I felt like I was getting an insider look at life as a nun in the 1960's. The camera caught the details - Sister James putting on her habit, wrapping the long chain around her waist; the nuns waking early and gathering together in their nighties to go to the chapel for prayers; the nuns, still wearing their little black bonnets, sitting together for the evening meal. I thought about the sacrifice that nuns make to be clergy: to never have their own little kitchen surrounded by their own personal things - a favorite teapot, their own dishes, their personal preference for breakfast or a snack. Communal living means an institutional life, like eating cafeteria food for every meal.

The inequality between the male clergy and the nuns is illustrated in many little ways. The director cleverly juxtaposes the supper meal of the nuns with that of the priests in one scene. What a contrast! As well, when the priest comes to Sister A's office to discuss the Christmas pageant, he automatically takes over her desk, sits in her chair, opens her drawer to look for paper, etc although it's her office and she is the school principal!! There is a real lack of respect for Sister A from the priest in other small ways too. Although she is an unlikeable character in many ways, the priest's comments about her, calling her a dragon for instance, is disrespectful and unworthy of her position. Sister James' deference towards the priest over the tea pouring is so over-the-top it's humorous. We are reminded that at this time in church history, the local priest often had enormous psychological power.

The possibility that Father Flynn is a molester is hinted at in an early scene. Sister Aloysius is clearly disturbed by the sermon on "doubt". She makes the viewer wonder too, and so I found myself looking at every action of the priest with that question, wondering if I was being taken in by his charming ways. If Father Flynn's relationship with Donald Miller is inappropriate, then Sister A is a courageous, intuitive nun, battling against the closed brotherhood of priests where she has no power and no rank. Although she has virtually no evidence of wrongdoing, her experience, her "gut", tells her there is a skunk in the wood box! If however, Father Flynn is no more than he seems to be - a kind compassionate priest who cares for this alienated child - then Sister A is a dangerous, obsessive nun who intends to destroy the priest. She already has taken steps by creating suspicion among the other nuns and then with Donald's mother. Her intention to contact people from the priest's previous parishes will stir up suspicion and ruin Father Flynn's reputation. Her actions will also create chaos for Donald who lives with an abusive father, and will probably ruin Donald's chance for a higher education.

The viewer hopes that the director will resolve all this wondering by the last scene - but he doesn't!! So we are left to make up our own minds. There are three possibilities for us to choose from. One is that Father Flynn is not a molester. But he could see Sister A was obsessed with the idea that he was, and that she would not stop until he and many others had been hurt. So he resigns. The second option is that Father Flynn is abusing Donald Miller, and he resigns so no more action will be taken that will reveal his crime. The third possibility is that Father Flynn had not yet done anything wrong with Donald, but had abused boys in previous parishes. When he finds out that Sister A was going to contact them he resigned to keep his secret. The fact that Father Flynn was moved to a better situation, almost a promotion, could be because his superiors believed him when he said to them, as he did to Sister A. that he had done nothing wrong. His superiors didn't want to appear to discipline him when he had done no wrong. The other possibility of course is his superiors were simply covering up a shameful problem. History has shown that this happened in the Catholic church time after time. Personally, I decided that Father Flynn was not guilty, either with Donald Miller, nor with anyone else.

Another interesting subplot in the movie is Sister James, a young naive nun who teaches history in the school. At first she is very intimidated by Sister Aloysius and led by Sister A's suspicions to think badly of the priest herself. She even brings "evidence" to Sister A's attention. But once she hears the Father's explanation, and later meets him on her own, she sees a different side to the situation. She realizes that Sister A hates the priest for many reasons, even as petty as because he uses a ball point pen! The priest tries to call Sister James forward to be her true self. As she comes under pressure and has more doubts about the priest's guilt, she becomes harsh and unreasonable with her students - even imitating Sister A's habit of calling the student "boy". She disappears from the plot at the climax, and we later realize she has returned to her home b/c her brother was ill. She comes in again in the aftermath of the priest's resignation to find these changes in the school. But she stands up to Sister A and speaks the truth as she knows it. Perhaps by being with her family for a time, she has reconnected with her own compassionate humanity, the "real her", and returns a more mature, strong person.

The last conversation between the two nuns is a puzzle. Initially I was pleased to see the growth in Sister James. Sister A seems as certain of the priest's guilt as ever, and she is bitter that, in her opinion, the male bastion has again closed ranks for one of their own and not disciplined him, but rather promoted him! But when she finally breaks down sobbing and proclaiming her own doubt - I was surprised. What is she in doubt about? The viewer is left to answer that question.