Doubt (2008)

All Critics (205) | Top Critics (45) | Fresh (164) | Rotten (46) | DVD (11)

Doubt works best when the performers are simply allowed to spar.

September 15, 2011 Full Review

David Fear

Time Out New York

Top Critic

Empathy is one of the dramatist's slyest weapons and Shanley uses it wisely.

February 5, 2009 Full Review

Dave Calhoun

Time Out

Top Critic

John Patrick Shanley's Doubt left me less moved than querulously dissatisfied despite the impressive performances of Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis in all the key roles.

December 31, 2008 Full Review | Comment (1)

Andrew Sarris

New York Observer

Top Critic

John Patrick Shanley the writer should never again hire John Patrick Shanley the director.

December 24, 2008 Full Review

Tom Long

Detroit News

Top Critic

Thanks to a nearly perfect cast, this provocative glimpse into the Catholic priest child-molestation scandal manages to be deeply disturbing on several levels.

December 23, 2008 Full Review

Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

Top Critic

Doubt asks hard questions, and we dutifully squirm in reply.

December 19, 2008 Full Review

Amy Biancolli

Houston Chronicle

Top Critic

Streep bursts onto the scene in a shower of meteors and takes control of director John Patrick Shanley's scenario.

August 16, 2011 Full Review

Kelly Vance

East Bay Express

You don't mess with two Capital-A actors when they decide to play the game of Who Can Yell The Loudest.

April 4, 2011 Full Review

Dave White

Movies.com

As a movie, very little actually happens. It's a lot of discussion about what might have happened or may occur in future, and then the emotional change that signals the curtain to drop and for the class to put down their pencils. The performances are st

December 15, 2009 Full Review

Karina Montgomery

Cinerina

An attention-getting bit of drama built on remarkable performances.

October 9, 2009 Full Review

Mike Scott

Times-Picayune

Shanley's continuous straining for that Great Unknown is undercut by tidy characters and cinematic deficiencies

August 26, 2009 Full Review

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

It might be a bit of a slow starter, and it definitely takes its time allowing the story to unravel slowly. However, it's definitely worth a look, and a bit of discussion.

June 14, 2009 Full Review

Kevin Carr

7M Pictures

If it's a less than perfect film, it's only because there may not be as much doubt for some as for others.

June 14, 2009 Full Review

James Plath

Movie Metropolis

Not a cinematic powerhouse, but a good conversation starter

May 14, 2009 Full Review | Comment (1)

Marty Mapes

Movie Habit

The early scenes of Doubt glide past so smoothly that it's easy to miss the seditious currents underneath.

April 7, 2009 Full Review

Jeffrey Bloomer

Paste Magazine

You get a full-length commentary by writer/ director John Patrick Shanley plus four featurettes.

April 6, 2009 Full Review

Brian Webster

Apollo Guide

The acting talent in evidence here is astounding and nobody, absolutely nobody puts her or his performance ahead of everyone else.

April 6, 2009 Full Review

Brian Webster

Apollo Guide

There is no doubt that Doubt has been given a highly exalted DVD treatment.

April 6, 2009 Full Review

Sal Cinquemani

Slant Magazine

Five-time Oscar-nominated drama proves ultimately unsatisfying parable, in spite of a taut plotline and four inspired performances.

April 3, 2009 Full Review

Kam Williams

NewsBlaze

If Shanley is condemning any rush to judgment, why is the deck so solidly stacked, not just against Streep's shrew, but all the women? Not to mention dismissing priest pedophilia as a conspiracy theory by mean nuns, considering the alarming public record.

March 30, 2009 Full Review

Prairie Miller

NewsBlaze

A cat-and-mouse game of power and posture, played out by two of the finest actors of the moment.

March 21, 2009 Full Review

Simon Weaving

Screenwize

The cast['s]... collective efforts go a long way to mitigating Shanley's pedestrian grasp of film language.

March 2, 2009 Full Review

Maitland McDonagh

Miss FlickChick

A well acted exploration of desperation, the destructiveness of conviction and the persuasiveness of doubt.

March 1, 2009 Full Review

Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

this cast is nothing short of amazing.

March 1, 2009 Full Review

Sean McBride

Sean the Movie Guy

• 1. Sister Aloysius Beauvier: What happened in the rectory?
  2. Father Brendan Flynn: Happened?
  3. Sister Aloysius Beauvier: Hmm.
  4. Father Brendan Flynn: Nothing happened, I had a talk with the boy.
  5. Sister Aloysius Beauvier: What about?
  6. Father Brendan Flynn: Private matter.
  7. Sister Aloysius Beauvier: He's twelve years old, what could be private?
  – Submitted by Nick P (5 months ago)
• 1. Sister Aloysius Beauvier: In ancient Sparta, important matters were decided by who shouted loudest. Fortunately, we are not in ancient Sparta.
  – Submitted by Nandu J (9 months ago)
• 1. Father Brendan Flynn: Where's your compassion?
  2. Sister Aloysius Beauvier: Nowhere you can get at it.
  – Submitted by Nandu J (9 months ago)
• 1. Sister Aloysius Beauvier: In ancient Sparta, important matters were decided by who shouted loudest. Fortunately, we are not in ancient Sparta.
  – Submitted by Siddharth S (15 months ago)
• 1. Father Brendan Flynn: Where's your compassion?
  2. Sister Aloysius Beauvier: Nowhere you can get at it.
  – Submitted by Jarred S (17 months ago)
• 1. Father Brendan Flynn: You have no right to act on your own. You have taken vows; obedience being one. You answer to us. You have no right to step outside the church.
  2. Sister Aloysius Beauvier: I will step outside the church! If that's what needs to be done, though the door should shut behind me, I will do what needs to be done!
  – Submitted by Jarred S (17 months ago)