Doubt
(2008/Miramax Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C Film: B-
I have
never been much of a fan of the work of John Patrick Shanley and always found
something contrived about most of his work.
Add the hype over the years and you’d wonder what the big deal was. However, despite some predictability and
flaws, Doubt (2008, based on his
stage play) is a solid film with a great set of performances and a visit inside
the world of the declining institute of Catholic Schools.
Meryl
Streep is Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the very serious and sometimes ruthless
head nun at St. Nicholas Church School (et al) where time has stood still
within its protective walls as much as possible, but things are changing and
the church is in decline. Certain scandals
have not helped and when a new priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) arrives with an
upbeat attitude to make changes, she is none too thrilled. She is comparatively happier with a new nun
(Amy Adams) who is naïve and not a threat to her power or ways.
Then one
day, Sister Aloysius finds out the new priest had words in private with a
picked on African American student and is disturbed that it might be more than
that. Suspecting the worst, she
investigates the best she can, but has nothing solid to go on. She even has a meeting with his mother (Viola
Davis in yet another great acting turn) and the situation becomes intense. Is the new priest a pedophile? Is Sister Aloysius projecting her fears of
change on to him and trying to convict an innocent man of something he did not
do, or are her instincts correct? That
is the crux of the film and the result is impressive. Casting is a dead on plus and helps the film,
so the hype is justified for the most part.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 image was shot by Director of Photography Roger Deakins, A.S.C.,
B.S.C., with some more grain than expected, but that is part of the look
intended. However, it is too often in
the frame and I cannot rate the image higher.
The DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless 5.1 mix is very good for a
dialogue-driven film, with well recorded dialogue and the music is good. Note the ambience in the surrounds.
Extras
include full-length audio commentary by Shanley and four featurettes: Doubt: From Stage To Screen, Scoring Doubt, The Cast Of Doubt and The
Sisters Of Charity. That is not bad,
but I expected a little more there.
- Nicholas Sheffo
