Doubt Question ***Contains Spoilers****

I've seen both.

I've always thought that at the end she was doubting the actions of Father Flynn and whether or not she had done the right thing. And the differences I noticed were just obvious things they had to do to adapt it for the screen. In the play, the only characters are the two sisters, the father, and Mrs. Miller - the film added in a lot more characters (more sisters, all the children, and all the other adults they added in)

Another thing that I noticed was in the play I viewed Sister Aloysius as being much more sure of herself, and much angrier. This made it even stronger when she came crashing down at the end as she had doubt. Meryl played it a little softer, in my opinion. Also, the fact that there are kids in the movie had a huge impact on my view of Father Flynn. We actually get to see him interact with children, which sometimes made me suspect him and sometimes made me think he was just a genuinely good man who cared about the kids. Depending on whether or not you think he actually did it, the movie can reinforce your view.

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I think the point of the movie and play is that the audience even doubts what she doubts. So many aspects of the plot are undetermined, so I don't think the character was meant to be specific.

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I'm not sure the institution of the Church was aware of anything untoward in Father Flynn's behavior. I have "doubts" in that area.

To me, Sister Al's breakdown was about her doubts whether or not he was guilty and did she do the right thing in accusing him without proof. It showed she had a conscience.

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I think if you're casting Philip Seymour Hoffman, you've GOT to show him interacting innocently with kids, otherwise no one'll have any doubts at all. ;D

Mind you, just because the play only had four characters doesn't mean we didn't see Father Flynn interacting with children onstage. They were just... invisible and silent. Obv. :P

The thing about this play that makes it so powerful for everyone and so difficult to get right unless you have a super-strong cast and so frustrating for certain others is that it is SO open to audience interpretation. Watch the performances, and draw your own conclusions from what you see. They may be different to everyone else's conclusions, but I firmly believe Shanley purposefully wrote the play so that there are no right or wrong answers, only individual interpretations. If he wanted there to be one definite answer for every question, he'd've written them in. :P

(Unless you're one of the lucky men who get to play Father Flynn, then Shanley will draw you aside and whisper secrets in your ear. How drunk d'you think I'd have to get Hoffman/O'Byrne/Shanley before they'd tell me if Flynn was *actually* guilty or not?)

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Updated On: 12/29/08 at 05:57 AM

From what I've read and heard even Shanley doesn't have a definitive answer. The only one who can tell you is the actor who is playing Flynn, who definitely does need to make a choice as to what the character's history is. When I worked on the show in Kansas City the actor and the director had a very private meeting where they came to their conclusion, which remains a secret to this day.

It's definitely a very powerful piece when put in the right hands and I'm looking forward to seeing it later tonight.

I think as far as the film is concerned, the intentions for Sister Aloysius's final words and when she refers to doubt relates to her now failing faith and uncertainty in the institution of the Church and perhaps even furthermore her faith in God. In the conversation between her and Sister James in the final scene where the dialogue is regarding her having "lied" to sort of get the truth out of Father Flynn and her justification and interpretation of that event as stepping away from God or turning her back from God's grace to do so (*in the film, her turning her cross to face down) This sort of encompasses this idea of doing wrong for the greater good, despite the consequences of disobeying one's own God and being condemn to hell or falling away from grace as a price for doing so. You can even go further on and say she's sacrificing everything in the name of her personal morals and virtues. Her breakdown in the final scene shows how she is conflicted with juggling between her faith, in again..., the church and of God, with her conscience. The film is just so well done with these underlying statements regarding faith, conviction, and of course doubt that despite it being centered around this drama between Flynn and the Sisters, it has so much more to do with the characters, these greater themes in faith, and ideology then whether Flynn did or didn't do it.

Apart from Flynn being seen as the villain in this case, in many ways he isn't, and in many ways he is a great messenger of God aside from his wrong doings. His first sermon in the subject of "Doubt" should be watched and listened to again after the final scene in the film. Perhaps the sister is somewhat lost and isolated in her troublesome road as a fellow servant of God, especially during this particular time where so much is happening that really doesn't make all that much sense to her, Father Flynn as one of them. Father Flynn in his sermon about Doubt says many of the things that really foreshadow the the later scenes in the film and clearly the last one where he basically states that at times, the road to God is one that is bumpy and full of obstacles, but with the help of people around us, we get through it and we aren't alone in this pursuit but rather share the same uncertainties and whatnot.

So like... the bad guy is the good guy, but he's really is a bad guy? And the good guy needs to be the bad guy to be the good guy whattt??? J/k HAHA

Updated On: 1/25/09 at 10:44 AM