(The interesting facts about the doubt, the stage, and the movie production) John Patrick Shanley wrote the play "Doubt" and its 2008 movie adaptation. The film was directed by John Patrick Shanley himself and produced by Mark Roybal, Celia D. Costas, and Scott Rubin. You can find this film on many streaming platforms today, such as YouTube, Prime Video, and Paramount+, just to name a few. It premiered on Broadway as a play from March 31, 2005, to July 2, 2006, at the Walter Kerr Theatre. The playwright is about a young black boy named Donald Miller who attended a Catholic school during the period of segregation in 1964 in New York City, and he was the only child of color. The young man came from a hard family life he was also kind of poor. Being that the boy came from a hard background, and being that his father hit him at home, and his mother always turned a blind eye. The priest, Father Flynn, in the school sees that Donald is having a hard time adjusting to the new school, and he can see that he is being picked on by some of his classmates. Donald sees this as warm and kind, and he really appreciates it. On the other hand, two nuns who work at the school. Sister Aloysius has a suspicion that the young boy Donald, is being sexually assaulted by Father Flynn. Sister Aloysius goes to tell Sister James her suspicions. Sister James starts to wonder as well, but is also starting to play into sister aloysius' delusion. They both start to watch his every movement towards the children, but Donald especially. Sister Aloysius did some digging into Father Flynn and why he left his old church and moved into their church. She was able to get in contact with someone from his former church. She then also confronted his mother and told her the suspicions she was having concerning her son and Father Flynn. Donald's mother didn't want to say anything to Father Flynn or the authorities because she knew that would upset her husband, and she would rather Donald have Father Flynn as his father figure because he is showing Donald that he cares for him better than his father can. Stister Aloysius threatened Father Flynn by telling him her suspicions and sharing her knowledge of his past life. He gets nervous due to the facts of his past and how that would make him look running his reputation. He steps down and leaves the school. Sister Aloysius feels so accomplished, but a the same time, she then went on to tell sister james that she had doubts and what if she was wrong about the whole thing and just accused an innocent man. You then just left with the question: Did Father Flynn really do it? In the movie production, Meryl Streep plays sister aloysius, sister james is played by Amy Adams, and Father Flynn is played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. I really enjoyed Meryl Streep as sister aloysius because she played the character as how imagined her to be in my head, being mean and just so resentful of others. Same with Amy Adams, she played sister james as the sweetheart young nun I imagined. I felt that Father Flynn was not such a big part of the film as I hoped, because I wanted there to be a twist in the movie, finding out if he really was assaulting Donald. The scene, in my opinion, that was the best was when sister aloysius and Father Flynn were having their conversation in sister aloysius' office, and you could feel the tension in both of their voices and it had me on the edge of my seat because i wanted to know how sister was going to come up with her next move. This movie was a really good film. I felt that they touched and gave a good visual of what was expected, being very easy to understand and flow along. The design of the movie and play presented on Broadway was gloomy because everyone's clothes lacked color, but in a good way. There wasn't anything I would complain about with the sets, they fit what was imagined for the readers and watchers. The production team was creative with little things such as having sister Aloyuis being in the snow, sitting confessing that she may have been wrong, and then the camera just moving out slowly was a good addition to add the dramatic feel. Overall, the movie and play production of Dout was a 9/10 in my opinion I enjoyed it and would recommend giving it a watch.

Storyline was weak. Left me doubting if I had wasted my time watching it. Poor ending Meryl Streep crying and saying ' I have so many doubts'

Movie is flat, nothing happens. To us as audience it is unclear why they are so tensed, did anything really happen, why are they accusing the priest. Then at the end we also have no idea if it was an empty threat, why priest changed churches so many times including this one. Nothing has happened or developed from the beginning, it could have been a 15 min video telling a short drama story. The actors are amazing but the story is not developed enought.

This film will leave you questioning and doubting. No conclusion as you need to draw your own. Streep was excellent in it and the guy who played the priest.

Now that we are many years past the film's aggressive Oscar campaign and the endless debates over the film's effectiveness as an adaptation of a massively successful play, I think we can assess it on its own merits. Frankly I think the movie is very clear eyed about what happened and what this all means and the performances are uniformly great.

Critics and audience alike are all luvvy darling how wonderful what performances blah blah blah. I don’t get it. There is no reason for Streeps certainty. She has no ulterior motive and no proof. She is not mad nor is she looking for revenge. The story is fundamentally flawed.

Don't know how I'd missed this film. Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman kind of guaranteed a decent film. Effectively a two hander with a bit of Amy Adams thrown in for good measure. Great script. Great acting. An uncomfortable ending. Not a great advert for the Catholic faith.

Preconceived ideas, jumping to conclusions, assumptions of guilt. This film will test you.

Hoffman today. tomorrow and forever.

Very good indeed and, as you would expect, sensational turns not just from Streep and Hoffman, but Adams (the brilliant voice of reason and compassion, her character growing stronger every second) and Davis. It's a very strong story and I bet the play is incredible. Be warned - no definitive answers here and that's very much intended.

Delicate and realistic portrayal -clever, captivating and ambiguous. Wonderful acting as to be expected.

I appreciate the nuanced subject matter, especially the ambiguity of the priest's true intention. The thematic devices, skewed angle shots, the heights of the character positions are rather contrived and forced. Over acting of almost all these high caliber actors & actresses really tarnishes what could have been a very good movie.

Terrible movie. The acting was solid, but there was little to no plot. It kept creating suspense with no real ending. Also, I often think of or feel, the setting / environment of a movie. This was essentially 2 hours of watching and being in the realm of child abuse. Why would I want to do that by choice? Genuinely one of the worst movies I have ever seen --- the only good it brings is shedding light on what happens in churches, in case you didn't already know.

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.

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!

Boring hard to watch I would never watch this again

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.

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

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."

A fantastic, powerful drama that is fuelled by the gripping performances of it's three leads. One of 2008's best movies.