Doubt is "A Movie with Layers". One is an entertainment story, a mystery, what is happening in the Church and is it appropriate. It is also a character study, a contest between egos and a question as to how far someone will go, even if they are guided only by intuition. It is also a fable. And, of course, it is also an allegory of the re-arrangement and liberalization of the Catholic Church after the Vatican II council of 1962.
All at the same time. It is well done enough to foster great amounts of discussion on all three fronts. And it will. Watch Doubt with at least three people and watch it carefully for it is one of the most intelligent movies I have seen in a very long time.
To know more about it, it must be watched. I wont ruin it here.
But it is also very intriguing that it is dedicated to "Sister James"...
Analysis (Ok, I can ruin a bit here):
The Priest, Father Brendan Flynn, represents liberal change and as such is stuck with liberal stereotypes: lenient, potential child molester. Sister Aloysius Beauvier represents consistency (stagnation) and is suck with conservative stereotypes: strict disciplinarian without a sense of humor and overly confident. She pursues a course to remove Flynn from her school and church because she does, despite appearances, care for her students a great deal. And she cares for the greater good.
She's just really closed minded as to what that could be.
The movie is left open ended on all of its layers besides to say that: doubt is probably a good thing to have sometimes. It opens and closes with that. I hazard no guess as to wether Father Flynn molested anyone. I am also not sure it is such a bad thing in the case that the movie presents. I also will hazard no guess as to wether the film makes have a bias toward church structure. Are they in favor of a liberal church or not? The only allegorical resolution they offer is to say that, well, it does happen. The movie was created with the benefit of hindsight. Is it good? Well... I think so, but I'm a liberal, hippy, tree-hugging and dirt worshiping wacko who's studied enough psychology to know that everyone from insects to humans learn better though positive re-enforcement, not punishment.
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