What fascinated me about Doubt were two peripheries: The blatant sexism of the 1960s Catholic church and the anguish of a terribly conflicted mother, played by Viola Davis.
4 Comments
12/26/08
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
81 - 100 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Exhausting yet invigorating, it's a drama one witnesses more than just views.
12/26/08
Doubt lets you make up your mind [about the plot] if you insist on certainty, but the point of the story is that there really isn't any.
12/26/08
Despite Streep's histrionics, this transfer from stage drama to big screen lacks cinematic novelty. It always feels small when it should feel intimate.
12/26/08
[The] performances are so enjoyable, it feels ungenerous to note Doubt isn't quite as profound as it seems to think.
12/26/08
[Heavyweight actress Meryl]Streep wallops [Philip Seymour] Hoffman. He counters. She feints, he jabs. The slugfest gets serious and both end up scoring a knockout.
12/25/08
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12/25/08
A collection of acting styles from the broad to the contained and the exacting to the unrestrained create an unevenness of tone and interpretation.
12/25/08
As my dear friend and mentor Bill Wundram, of the Quad-City Times, has told me for 23 years: Beware the overly self-righteous.
12/24/08
A melodrama that changes the rules in an effort to seem fresh. But at its heart it's still a boo-here, hiss-there formula romp.
12/24/08
John Patrick Shanley the writer should never again hire John Patrick Shanley the director.
12/24/08
Riveting and unforgettable, this intense drama really pulls you in and holds you with a terrific script and four unforgettable Oscar-worthy performances.
12/24/08
More tailored for the Oscars than a Clint Eastwood war epic, Doubt features some of the best performances we've seen all year but it falls short in other departments.
12/23/08
The acting is out of the park but the script leaves you doubting how good it is.
12/23/08
Thanks to a nearly perfect cast, this provocative glimpse into the Catholic priest child-molestation scandal manages to be deeply disturbing on several levels.
12/23/08
Leaves little doubt about its search for tolerance and morality in the real world.
12/23/08
One viewing sold me on its basic quality. A second look convinced me that Doubt is at least verging on something like greatness.
12/23/08
A lot of viewers get caught up in trying to figure out what really happened, when in fact the film is more of a Rorschach test.
12/22/08
Streep overacts the way Bette Davis did in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and its fun and scary and thrilling at the same time. It's the reason to see Doubt but subtle it's not - and there's no doubting that.
12/21/08
[The play is] a shallow work easily interpreted, and Shanley's own film version is no different in the low bar it aims for and ultimately attains.
12/21/08
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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