Movie Discussion: "Doubt"

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

I realize this movie has been out for quite some time now, but my husband and I didn't really watch a lot of movies until recently signing up for netflix. So here is my late, albeit insightful review of "Doubt."

A mercilessly strict Catholic school principal dead set on ousting a Priest she believes to be a pedophile. It seemed to me at first to be a low blow on the Catholic Church, giving the time of the movie's release. I'm not sure what expectations I had of the movie, but rest assured they were far exceeded. There are many different takes on this movie. Whether or not the priest was guilty, what doubts Meryl Streep's character was actually having, what the "nature" of the little boy was that his mother referred to. No matter which stance you take, we can all agree this movie was powerful, touching, and thought provoking. The sermon about gossip was perhaps the most insightful to me. I felt like I was in the church, listening to the sermon in person. That kind of feeling will be had throughout. You feel as if you're there. You want to insert your insight to their conversations. You want to know these people, because they're the kind of people who change lives.

That said, I can offer you my idea of what was really happening in the movie, starting with the priest. I don't think the Priest was a pedophile. I think the reason he had been moved from Parish to Parish was because he was gay. The first hint is his long nails. There must be some reason why they are mentioned four different times. This is the reason the blonde boy doesn't like him, and tries to pull away from him in the court yard. My guess is that the Priest thought he was gay at some point and confided in him, but it turned out he wasn't. Our second hint is when the black boys mother tells the principal, "Maybe some boys want to be caught." She also talks about his "nature" that almost got him killed at his previous school, and his father who hates him and beats him. I believe the priest caught him drinking alter wine, and the boy confided in him. He gave the boy a clean shirt so he wouldn't smell like alcohol, and the two formed a bond. He wanted to protect the boy from whatever ridicule he had been through in his own life. He wasn't a bad person, just a person with a secret.

On to Meryl Streep's character, the principal. From the very beginning of the movie, there is a strong wind blowing outside. It is present throughout and I believe it is a reference to change. Meryl Streep makes reference to how she has never seen such a wind. Then throughout the entire movie, you get small conversations showing her opposition to change in the church. She doesn't understand why the faith she has devoted her life to needs to change at all. She mentions how she was married before becoming a Nun, and her husband was killed in the war. The world outside of her vows is scary and uncertain, but here she stands questioning them. At one point she tells the priest that she would gladly walk out the door and not come back if it means proving his wrongdoings. She has a cold, hard exterior, and is portrayed as having no compassion. But compassion itself is a change for her in the church. Discipline is all she has ever known. At the end you see her break down, and say that she has so many doubts. Without thought it may seem like she means about her accusation of the priest, but I believe she is doubting her faith. She is doubting her church. She can't understand how a man she thinks has done so many terrible things would be promoted in the church. I feel very bad for her.

Most of the other characters have very little meaning in the movie. With a movie of this caliber there is usually a moral, but I don't think Doubt is meant to have one. I think it is just a story of a woman. A compelling one at that.