DVD Review: Doubt

Even the biggest fans of Doubt, John Patrick Shanley’s Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning play, wondered how on earth this four-character drama set in a Catholic school could be transformed into a feature film. Onstage, the dramatic showdown between a popular young priest and the school principal, a stern nun who suspects him of behaving inappropriately with the only black student, riveted audiences. But how could such a small-scale story fill the big screen?

Shanley, who adapted and directed the movie version of Doubt, did it the old-fashioned way: by casting four great actors and plunking them down on the very street corner where he attended first grade in the Bronx in the early 1960s. From start to finish, Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis—all of whom received Oscar nominations for their performances—immerse themselves in Shanley’s world. Now, on the new DVD available April 7, all the details Shanley and his actors so carefully wove into Doubt can be savored again and again.

Let’s start with Streep, who can mine comic gold out of barking a two-word command, “Be seated,” to a roomful of eighth graders. Permanently unsmiling and on guard, Streep’s Sister Aloysius goes on alert at the first sentence of a sermon delivered by Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn: “What do you do when you’re not sure?” For a nun who sees everything in black and white, a sermon extolling the virtues of doubt is deeply suspicious.

Hoffman makes Father Flynn both compelling and vaguely creepy, and Shanley takes full advantage of the film’s ability to show the character's interaction with the boys at the school as he coaches basketball and dishes out dating advice. Hoffman played Streep’s son in a 2001 Central Park production of The Seagull, and their showdown scenes in Doubt reflect their mutual respect. “I want to work with him 1,000 more times,” Streep says of Hoffman in the DVD’s excellent “From Stage to Screen” bonus feature.

Amy Adams shines in the difficult role of Sister James, a character based on Shanley’s own first grade teacher. The real Sister James served as a consultant and appears in the bonus feature. After accusing Father Flynn of having “taken an interest” in a student, this sunny, innocent young nun finds her faith severely tested. As the student’s mother, Viola Davis gives a rock-solid dignity to a character who appears in only one, crucial scene—but whose confrontation with Sister Aloysius drives the film toward its suspenseful conclusion.

In addition to the 20-minute “Stage to Screen” bonus feature, the Doubt DVD includes a roundtable with the cast, a feature on Howard Shore’s haunting score, the real-life story of the Sisters of Charity, and Shanley’s feature commentary. Watch Doubt the first time to marvel at how a great play morphed into a memorable movie; watch it again for moments like the nuns eating in silence while the priests laugh raucously over red meat and wine; Streep lecturing Adams on the evils of ballpoint pens; and Hoffman glancing up at a stained glass window depicting the all-seeing eye of God.

Broadway.com interviewed the stars of Doubt prior to the movie's premiere. Watch it below!