Doubt

PG-13

Released Dec 25, 2008

1 hr. 44 min.

Drama

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79%

221 Reviews

Tomatometer

78%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1964 the winds of change are sweeping through Sister Aloysius' (Meryl Streep) St. Nicholas school. Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a charismatic priest, is advocating reform of the school's strict customs, and the first black student has just been accepted. When a fellow nun (Amy Adams) tells Sister Aloysius that Father Flynn may be paying too much personal attention to the student, Sister Aloysius begins a personal crusade against the priest -- despite her lack of evidence.

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Critics Consensus

Doubt succeeds on the strength of its top-notch cast, who successfully guide the film through the occasional narrative lull.

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David H

This movie wants to have it both ways. The priest is both guilty and not guilty at the same time. Nonsense. Truth is not a matter of opinion. Facts are absolute.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/20/24

Full Review

Alec C

Doubt can lead to questioning everything, from your faith to what is actually true! As a nun notices that the head priest has formed a close relationship with a student, suspecting that he may be molesting the boy, so she decides to investigate without any evidence to the contrary. This film intentionally leads us doubting everyone's motives, showing that the truth is not as easy as it appears!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/01/24

Full Review

Braylon A

Boring hard to watch I would never watch this again

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/10/24

Full Review

Mike H

powerful acting. Slow moving at first but a good punch of my own doubt at the end. An emotional twister of judgement and condemnation without factual proof...and the conclusions circumstancial evidence can enforce.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/12/23

Full Review

OKeegan

Black boys...aren't alter boys...never met a black Catholkc in my life...huge mistake on the directors part...to be DEI I'm sure, but non the less to Catholics....totally unbelievable...it should be able to be...what it is

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/31/23

Full Review

Joe S

A study in subtlety. notwithstanding Meryl Streep's fierce performance as a bossy, self-righteous nun whom many of us recognize readily. Of course, Streep's nun, the principal of a Catholic grade school, is right in figuring Philip Seymour Hoffman's feel-good priest as a pedophile -- in 1964, before the horror stories all started spilling out. Amy Adams is an idealistic, naïve young nun, appealingly gaining enough bravery to be a little bit "fresh" in her reactions with Streep's Sister Aloysius toward the end of the movie -- a portend of an era that looms ahead for the Church. The role of Father Flynn. the purported predator priest (it's never actually proved that he is, beyond Aloysius's accusation based on her eagle eye and life experience) is played with consummate skill by Hoffman, who's confidently restrained till he is cornered, and even then he manages to convey his character as a victim. Viola Davis, as a student's mother. brings a note of tragic realpolitik to the story. Incidentally, there are two scenes in which Streep as Sister Aloysius grouses about a window being left open in her office, and slams it down -- a very veiled pre-reference to Pope John XXIII's famous declaration ten years later that Vatican II would open the windows of the Church to let the air in. It isn't often that screenplay, actors, director (and even producers) join forces to produce art, but that's what's been done in "Doubt."

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/12/23

Full Review

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John Patrick Shanley

Director

Meryl Streep

Sister Aloysius

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Father Flynn

Amy Adams

Sister James

Viola Davis

Mrs. Miller

Alice Drummond

Sister Veronica

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Doubt: Official Clip - What Have I Done?

2:10

Doubt: Official Clip - I Will Do What Needs to Be Done

2:05

Doubt: Official Clip - I Have Such Doubts

2:09

Doubt: Official Clip - Crisis of Faith

2:12

Doubt: Official Clip - Sweet Tooth

1:40

Doubt: Official Clip - Pagan Christmas Songs

2:03

Doubt: Official Clip - Feathers of Gossip

2:13

Doubt: Official Clip - Supper Time

0:43

Doubt: Official Clip - Dirty Nails

1:29

Doubt: Official Clip - I Am Concerned

2:10

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Doubt: Trailer 1

1:55

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

Don't miss it.

Rated: A

Sep 12, 2017

Full Review

Anthony Quinn

Independent (UK)

The moral grey area of the title perhaps worked better in the stage play; exposed on screen it's not "doubt" being expressed, it's the sound of Streep's headmistressy voice demanding, "That Oscar - on my desk, NOW."

Rated: 2/5

Feb 10, 2009

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Doubt looks like some sort of upscale horror film, complete with crows and swirling leaves like The Omen. It's actually a terminally muddled piece of star-studded Oscar-bait.

Rated: 1/5

Feb 6, 2009

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

An expert film, with a precision and lucidity in its intellectual quandary that few motion pictures can muster, making the experience at once entertaining and full of substance.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 5, 2024

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Doubt never feels too theatrical in adapting for the screen but the powerhouse performances by the cast only serve to elevate John Patrick Shanley's script.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 1, 2024

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

Shanley apparently accepts everything about the world. How can an artist accomplish anything on such a basis?

Feb 13, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 1964 the winds of change are sweeping through Sister Aloysius' (Meryl Streep) St. Nicholas school. Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a charismatic priest, is advocating reform of the school's strict customs, and the first black student has just been accepted. When a fellow nun (Amy Adams) tells Sister Aloysius that Father Flynn may be paying too much personal attention to the student, Sister Aloysius begins a personal crusade against the priest -- despite her lack of evidence.

Director: John Patrick Shanley
Executive Producer: Celia D. Costas
Screenwriter: John Patrick Shanley
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Scott Rudin Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Material)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 17, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $33.4M

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