Doubt

Playwright John Patrick Shanley adapts his award-winning '60s era drama for the silver screen with mixed success. Shanley's narrative presents a double-edged problem by painting Catholic Priest Father Brendan Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) as a concerned good-guy to Meryl Streep's baleful Sister Aloysius who accuses the Father of impropriety with the school's only black student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster II). In light of the countless Catholic Priests that have been indicted on pedophilia charges in recent years, the material brings into question Shanley's motivations for writing what is a tacit apology for suspicions raised against male clergy. Convincing performances from Amy Adams (as Sister James), Meryl Streep, and Philip Seymour Hoffman do little to mitigate the material's buried agenda.

(Miramax Films) Rated PG-13. 104 mins. (C)