“B-“ Rating by Robert W. Hammerle

“Doubt” and “Frost-Nixon” represent polar opposites when it comes to taking acclaimed plays to the big screen. While “Frost/Nixon” benefited from the expanded format, there is little “doubt” that “Doubt” lost much of its dramatic resonance.

What seemed so powerful on the Broadway stage appears forced and over-cooked on film. As great as Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep are, their performances in “Doubt” border on similar histrionics that Angelina Jolie gave us in this year’s “Changeling.”

Listen to Ms. Jolie repeatedly scream, “That’s not my child!” “But I have my certainty,” Ms. Streep responds. To which Mr. Hoffman barks, “What did you see? Where is your proof?”

I’m convinced that “Doubt” suffers from the “Changeling” malaise for the very reason that both directors lacked any measure of restraint. As I noted in my earlier review of “Changeling,” Mr. Eastwood seemed far too mesmerized by Ms. Jolie to hold her back. In “Doubt,” director John Patrick Shanley simply couldn’t bring a sense of pace and proportion to a script that he authored.

Furthermore, look how an accomplished film director like Ron Howard was able to immeasurably expand the feel of “Frost/Nixon” with shots of Nixon brooding at his San Clemente residence while staring out at the Pacific. By contrast, “Doubt’s” rookie Hollywood director tragically created a stark wintry environment that only served to produce a feeling of claustrophobia and suffocation.

Having said that, “Doubt” remains a powerful morality tale on several levels. After all, what are one’s ethical responsibilities when it comes to confronting a suspected child molester? What if you keep quiet and allow innocent children to be victimized?

While “Doubt” is set in 1964, it has enormous contemporary meaning given the horrific pedophile scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church. Clearly, religious people in the chain of command kept this quiet for decades, and the church should wear this stain as a badge of shame.

On the other had, such an allegation, true or not, effectively ruins a person. Once made, a reputation is indelibly soiled. Nothing can bring it back.

“Doubt” confronts these profound issues. Surprisingly, the strength of the film is found in the understated performances of Amy Adams and Viola Davis. Ms. Adams plays Sister James, a young nun who serves as the prism through which the audience emotionally confronts the moral dilemma played out by Hoffman and Streep.

But it is Ms. Davis, the mother of the young boy in question, who steals this movie. She is unforgettable as a protective mother who is desperately trying to save her son from both an abusive husband and predatory religious authority figures.

In the end, what fascinated me most about “Doubt” was its spot-on depiction of life in the elementary Catholic school system in the 1950’s and 1960’s. I graduated from St. Louis grade school in Batesville, Indiana in 1961, and Ms. Streep perfectly embodied a principal who relied on fear to instill discipline.

Quite frankly, I can only describe “Doubt” as an “I don’t’ know, what did you think” kind of film. That is the answer one generally hears from someone who feels guilty about being less than impressed by a film that has been critically described as a movie of great substance. So, “what did you think?”