Doubt

Like There Will Be Blood last year and Notes on a Scandal the year before, Doubt showcases the highest (or deepest) levels of technique. I’ve been known to criticize ambiguity, because it’s often used as an excuse to justify lame storytelling. But in this case, the movie’s called Doubt, so I’ll give it the benefit. And the ambiguity here is sublime, driven by the great performances shrouded with subtlety. The many close-ups are filled with stern faces, trying but failing brilliantly to restrain innuendo. Thankfully, too, the movie plays more like a thriller than an unsavory drama. The potential creepy, rapey-ness of the story is almost invisible. The moral rests in the capable hands of Amy Adams’ Sister James, who even at the bitter end finds her faith in the goodness of humanity to be more powerful than her doubt.