Review of Doubt (2003) by Darryl K — 21 Jul 2012
A minister accused of child molestation. Nothing new here. We've all heard these rumors/stories/books/films. And unfortunately this kind of story has been so often told/reported that it has become cliched.
Just start a story about a priest and you can guess it will be about child molestation. The thing is 99% of priests out their don't do this. It's sad to see a group of people who generally are trying to help people be so doubted, so linked to such perversion in a society's collective thoughts.
That's where Doubt comes in. Intricately constructed to be almost a proverb, D is an example of how doubt can destroy someone, whether they are guilty or not. An aptly named film. Shanley constructs a story of a minister accused of wrong doing and the sister hell bent on proving it.
The story is so evenly balanced that it never becomes clear whether he has done anything or not. Things are suspicious, but nothing is clear, building doubt in the audiences mind (both for the minister and for the nun).
Only in the end is the answer revealed, and even then, it is not clear, doubt abounds. And to top off such an interesting concept are the riveting performances by Streep, Hoffman, Adams and Davis. Together they make an already mesmerizing experience into something unforgettable.
This is a must see.
This review of Doubt (2003) was written by Darryl K on 21 Jul 2012.
Doubt has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
