A few weeks ago my godmother and I went to see Doubt. I had pretty high expectations for the movie, since I'd heard so many good things about it and I have to say I was not disappointed. The storyline kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole movie and the acting was simply amazing.
What was most intriguing to me was the ending. The movie didn't leave you after you left the theatre, which is always something I really enjoy. My godmother and I both were convinced that we knew who was right and who was wrong. Only, she thought that the priest, Father Flynn, didn't do anything wrong, whereas I was certain that Meryl Streep's character, Sister Aloysius, was right to do what she did. It is really fascinating to see a story unfold, in which you can never be certain. You can never know for sure what really happened.
There were some scenes in which I felt like the creators of the story were trying to point the viewers into one or the other direction, but since there were scenes for both directions, it really was hard to figure out who you believed. The fact that the boy was supposedly gay did surprise, but also disturb me. Part of me felt like that there was this notion that it was okay for priest to come onto him since he was 'asking for it'. How his mother repeated 'It's only till the summer' was also unsettling, it seemed like she was putting her son's happiness in this moment away so that he could have a better future. Her despair to deal with the situation just shocked me, because really, what would you do in a situation like that. Women didn't have much to say at that time anyways, and as a black woman trying to just manage and not be a target of the racism that existed all around, I can imagine mothers actually reacting like that. Viola Davis did an absolutely amazing job at portraying that struggle so well you could actually feel her pain.
What was most intriguing to me was the ending. The movie didn't leave you after you left the theatre, which is always something I really enjoy. My godmother and I both were convinced that we knew who was right and who was wrong. Only, she thought that the priest, Father Flynn, didn't do anything wrong, whereas I was certain that Meryl Streep's character, Sister Aloysius, was right to do what she did. It is really fascinating to see a story unfold, in which you can never be certain. You can never know for sure what really happened.
There were some scenes in which I felt like the creators of the story were trying to point the viewers into one or the other direction, but since there were scenes for both directions, it really was hard to figure out who you believed. The fact that the boy was supposedly gay did surprise, but also disturb me. Part of me felt like that there was this notion that it was okay for priest to come onto him since he was 'asking for it'. How his mother repeated 'It's only till the summer' was also unsettling, it seemed like she was putting her son's happiness in this moment away so that he could have a better future. Her despair to deal with the situation just shocked me, because really, what would you do in a situation like that. Women didn't have much to say at that time anyways, and as a black woman trying to just manage and not be a target of the racism that existed all around, I can imagine mothers actually reacting like that. Viola Davis did an absolutely amazing job at portraying that struggle so well you could actually feel her pain.
All in all, I think the movie raised some questions that every person will probably have to face in his life. What do you do, when you don't know for sure? How do you deal with uncertainty? Do you change your plans when in doubt? How much do you stand by your personal convictions? Certainly something to think about.
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