Doubt

2008

Action / Drama / Mystery

60
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 78% · 220 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 78% · 100K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.5/10 10 145200 145.2K

gift sexual abuse nun wine priest janitor

Plot summary

In 1964 Bronx, two Catholic school nuns question the new priest's ambiguous relationship with a troubled African-American student.

Director

John Patrick Shanley Photo
John Patrick Shanley

Top cast

Jack O'Connell Photo
Jack O'Connell as Mr. McGuinn
Bridget Megan Clark Photo
Bridget Megan Clark as Noreen Horan
Amy Adams Photo
Amy Adams as Sister James
Meryl Streep Photo
Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius Beauvier
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
811.59 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 44 min
Seeds 29
1.65 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 44 min
Seeds 16

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by blott2319-1 7 / 10

Gut-wrenching film that is tough to take

Doubt is a movie that pulls no punches and wastes no time. It is about a nun who suspects a priest of having an inappropriate relationship with a student in their school. I had fully anticipated that there would be a slower build to the confrontations in the story, but I'm not sure why I thought that might happen. Considering how brash and brazen Meryl Streep plays the Principal of the school, I should have known that subtlety wasn't going to be her preferred method of handling things. Her first confrontation with the priest was a heart-pounding scene that almost made my palms sweat as if I was part of the uncomfortable situation. It was perfect that they chose to also have Amy Adams there to offer a contrast as someone who wants to avoid the conflict.I applaud Doubt for some wonderful acting performances across the board. This movie features an all-star level of talent, and they have some serious dramatic scenes that feel tailor-made for Oscar nominations. The film is hard to watch, though. I almost squirmed right out of my chair during the scene with Viola Davis, and there are several scenes with a similar tone. It doesn't have a cathartic release at the end, in fact many of the worst elements of the plot never feel resolved. There's an uncomfortable ugliness to the way things play out in this movie, and it makes me want to watch Spotlight right after so I feel satisfied that something more has been done. Doubt is one of those movies where I respect it more than I like it. There's no denying this is quality film-making, but it is not the kind that I want to subject myself to many times in the future.
Reviewed by GrafZeppelin127 8 / 10

Spectacular ambiguity.

Watch this movie once, with the idea that Fr. Flynn is guilty. Then watch it again, with the idea that he is innocent. Or do it the other way around. Shanley's dialogue is so perfectly, brilliantly ambiguous that this is really two movies in one. Both are powerful, and both possibilities are horrible to contemplate, for very different reasons.Having seen both the play (during its original run with Cherry Jones and Brian F. O'Byrne) and the film, the play obviously has the edge because it's more intimate, consisting only of four characters. The film expands its milieu (as film versions of plays typically do) but I think having the schoolchildren, other nuns, and school staff present in the film diminishes it just a bit. The play, of course, is about "knowing" things that we don't actually know, and the movie shows us some of what the play leaves to the imagination. Although the ultimate question remains ambiguous, the viewer may be distracted by looking for clues in the other characters, especially the kids.What gives this piece its power, though, on both stage and screen, is its stubborn refusal to answer that ultimate question, or to provide any solid evidence of either conclusion, leaving it entirely up to the viewer to judge these characters.
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