It'll pin you to your seat.
Comment
12/11/08
Doubt (2008)
77
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:204
Fresh:158
Rotten:46
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: Doubt succeeds on the strength of its top-notch cast, who successfully guide the film through the occasional narrative lull.
Theatrical Release:06-02-2009
Synopsis: John Patrick Shanley brings his Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play to the screen as a gripping story about the quest for truth, the forces of change, and the devastating consequences of... [More]
Starring: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis
Director: John Patrick Shanley
Reviews for Doubt
181 - 200 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Streep in her black bonnet and Hoffman with his meticulously parted hair and long, clean fingernails are never quite believable.
12/10/08
It is drama of the highest caliber, shaped by words and characters and directed with a simplicity that stands in stark contrast to the complexity of the people and issues on screen.
12/10/08
Doubt works best when the performers are simply allowed to spar.
12/10/08
The crisis of faith faced by everyone in Doubt raises the biggest doubt of all.
12/10/08
A brilliantly acted and thought-provoking spiritual drama about faith, openness, certainty, and not knowing; one of the year's best films.
12/09/08
Ironically, by bringing us closer to the action--or more properly, the argument--the film diminishes the play's impact, as well as accentuating the overly histrionic elements of the performances.
12/09/08
Although Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are certain to dominate all discussion ... Viola Davis steals the film in its most memorable scene
12/08/08
But if Mamma Mia! and The Producers taught us anything, it's that stage people shouldn't get too involved with the movie version, because the performances wind up playing to the mezzanine rather than to the camera lens.
12/08/08
If only Doubt had been made in 1964, shot by Roger Corman over a long weekend, and retitled Spawn of the Devil Witch or Blood Wimple, all would have been forgiven.
12/08/08
Shanley, who has not directed a feature film since his maiden misadventure almost twenty years ago with Joe Versus the Volcano, has neither the skill nor the perspective to turn his Broadway powerhouse into a movie of similar punch.
12/08/08
John Patrick Shanley adapts and directs his award-winning play about the question of pedophilia within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church - with some degree of success.
12/08/08
Aside from awkward, often ill-fitting tilted camera angles, the writer/director adapts his stagey work with a modicum of aesthetic theatricality.
12/07/08
Doubt doesn't work fully on screen as it did on stage, but it's worth seeing for Streep's grace notes.
12/07/08
Judging it against the play may be unfair; taken on its own merits as a pop entertainment, Doubt, the movie, is far from a complete waste of time.
12/04/08
Doubt, which apparently reached the heavens on stage, is a bit too leaden on the screen to get far past the clouds.
12/04/08
Doubt, fussily overdirected by its author, John Patrick Shanley, dulls the play's own sharp inquiries into the dangerous power of those who profess certainty with God on their side.
12/03/08
Convincing performances from Amy Adams (as Sister James), Meryl Streep, and Philip Seymour Hoffman do little to mitigate the material's buried agenda.
12/01/08
You need not be religious to believe in this minor miracle.
12/01/08
Doubt stirs up a lot of stormy theatrical weather, but the stolid transfer from stage to screen does Shanley's play no favors.
12/01/08
Latest News for Doubt
May 25, 2009:
If Shanley is condemning any rush to judgment, why is the deck so solidly stacked, not just against Streep's shrew, but all the women? Not to mention dismissing priest pedophilia as a conspiracy theory by mean nuns, considering the alarming public record. 
More...
April 06, 2009:
RT on DVD: Bedtime Stories, Yes Man, Doubt Hit Shelves
This week's new releases include a few Hollywood takes on science fiction (Fox's remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still; the 1984 sequel 2010: The Year We Make Contact on... More...
January 14, 2009:
Oprah Sought Viola Davis' Role in Doubt
Eager to share a screen with Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey approached "Doubt" director John Patrick Shanley about a role in the film -- but, as Winfrey recently told a surprised... More...
January 08, 2009:
Broadcast Film Critics Name Critics' Choice Winners
The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards were given on January 8, 2009, to honor the finest achievements in 2008 filmmaking. A list of nominees follows below, with winners in bold: More...
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