(4 out of 5 stars)

The director of the stage play, John Patrick Shanley, wrote and directed the movie version of a principal/nun played by Meryl Streep who after being given some decidedly concerning information by one of her nun/teachers, played by Amy Adams, squares off against the priest of the church who may or may not have done wrong against the new black child at the school.

The acting is superb. Meryl Streep, as the old school principal, Amy Adams, as the innocent new teacher, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, as the suspicious priest make this movie the intriguing film that it is. The downside is the direction by Shanley who makes the movie appear as if he was still directing the stage version. Everything does not feel like it flows, but instead as if it is separate scenes on stage. While compelling, it feels disjointed as a movie.

The best thing is the story. While Streep’s character is convinced that Hoffman’s has done wrong by only circumstantial evidence, Adam’s character, as well as the audience easily question whether or not Hoffman has really done wrong. Maybe he is just not likeable. Maybe there are some coincidental situations. In the end, Streep may be confident, but not sure, and the audience may know which side they are on, but nothing truly proves who is right and wrong and there is doubt that notion puts Doubt in a league of its own as one of the great independent films.

Suggested similar recommendations: Notes on a Scandal