Doubt is a superbly acted, intelligent, grown-up drama

Popping up on Netflix as I looked for something to watch this afternoon, Doubt is a 2008 film that was written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, adapted from his 2004 Pulitzer and Tony-winning play, Doubt: A Parable.

Set in 1964, a year after the assassination of JFK and not long after Vatican II pledged that it would drag the church into the 20^th century, it takes place in a predominantly Irish-American parish in the Bronx, where cheerful Father Flynn is the priest of St Nicholas’s Church.

As he preaches about a community of doubt – particularly in light of the previous year’s assassination – Sister Aloysius, the principal of the connected school, prowls the aisles, admonishing children who aren’t paying enough attention.

This sets up the central confrontation in the piece – that of the modernising priest who wants to be friends with the children and their families, and the nun who entered the convent after being widowed in WWII and is very much of the old order.

But after witnessing a fleeting encounter between Flynn and one of her pupils, Aloysius tells her fellow nuns to be on the watch for anything suspicious and report it to her. Some days later, naïve Sister James eventually tells her that a week earlier, Flynn had called her in class to ask for one of the boys – Donald Miller, the school’s sole black pupil – to be sent to see him at the rectory.

When he returns to class, he is acting strangely and has alcohol on his breath. Aloysius has no doubts about what is happening. James is full of them.

The film’s is quietly paced and gives great time to flesh out the characters. It ultimately leaves the audience to decide whether Aloysius is correct. Do we have doubts too or her certainty?

The central cast is superb. Meryl Streep is a fierce Aloysius, Philip Seymour Hoffman a charming Flynn who can be threatening too, and Amy Adams takes the naïve James and gives her some real complexity. With only a single scene, Viola Davis is outstanding as Mrs Miller, Donald’s mother.

All four gained Oscar nominations: Streep for best actress and the others in the best supporting categories.

A seriously intelligent, grown-up drama, it’s well worth 104 minutes of your time.

Superb film of August Wilson's Ma Rainey – and not just because of Chadwick Boseman

After yesterday’s early evening football, there was still time for a film and, in this case, it was a re-watch of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

I’ve seen August Wilson’s play three times – I reviewed the National Theatre’s 1989 production, then went to see it with The Other Half when it played briefly at the Hackney Empire (where the roof leaked onto us). Then we went to see it again in the National’s top-notch 2016 revival.

The release of George C Woolfe’s 2020 film – produced by Denzel Washington as part of his long-term project to bring all of Wilson’s plays to the screen – was overshadowed by news of the death of star Chadwick Boseman at just 43 from cancer, while the film was in post-production.

His performance as the tragic, traumatised trumpeter Levee in Ma’s four-piece band – at once full of contempt for the white men who only tolerate the black musicians because they bring money in, but also overly deferential to them because he wants his own band – is brilliant. Little wonder that he received a hat-load of posthumous awards and nominations.

In a way, though, Boseman’s tragically early passing dwarfed the rest of the cast. The Other Half and I streamed it early after it landed on Netflix, having linked up the TV to one of our phones because we were at the start of two months without the internet after a major blow-out. That was how much we wanted to see it – and see it early.

Yet seeing it again now, I can not only re-engage with the brilliance of Boseman, but also better appreciate Viola Davis’s powerhouse performance as Ma.

I’m also now familiar with Colman Domingo, who played Cutler so well, and can enjoy more fully Glynn Turman’s turn as Toledo.

The film landed barely six months after the murder of George Floyd, illustrating just how topical the themes of Wilson’s – and Woolfe’s film – remain.

An essential watch.

 

The BAFTA nominations are in – who's going to win?

It's 'that' time of the year, when the BAFTA nominations are unveiled – and in spite of the best efforts of the pandemic, I seem to have better knowledge of the main contenders than in any previous year.

So here are my provisional thoughts and predictions.

I can't comment on All Quiet on the Western Front, as I haven't seen this new version yet, but I am aware that the critical response has uniformly been one of acclaim. Of course, in a perverse twist of fate, to be released in a year when Europe saw conventional warfare within it again probably hightened awareness – though the horrors of war should never be forgotten.
In terms of the best film, I think that it will be between All Quiet and The Banshees of Inisherin (pictured above).
I doubt that bookies will take bets on British film of the year, which is almost certain to go to Aftersun, given that is gained far more acclaim than anything else on the list.

On leading female actor, I'd love Viola Davis to get it (left– and I said she should be in the running for awards), but I wouldn't object remotely if Michelle Yeoh won for what was a wonderful performance in the exhilarating Everything Everywhere All at Once.

On leading male actor, I want Bill Nighy to win for Living, because his performance is simply gorgeous, but I think it will also be considered 'too' Bill Nighy and Colin Farrell will get it for Banshees. And that will not remotely be a bad thing. Odd, though, that the lead in All Quiet isn't here.

On supporting female actor, either Kerry Condon (Banshees) or Jamie Lee-Curtis (Everything Everywhere) are, I think, the leading contenders, though Dolly de Leon in Triangle of Sadness could be a deserved surprise.

Supporting male actor – it's such a shame to pit Banshees actors Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan against each other: the former's role is a joint lead, and he gives a superb performance, while the latter's is a 'conventional' supporting role and the performance he gives is also superb.

Director? I suspect that Gina Prince-Bythewood is in with a good chance for The Woman King.

Outstanding British debut by a writer, producer or director – Aftersun.

Film not in English – All Quiet.

Documentary – no idea.

Animated film – has to be Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (left). Nothing else on that list comes close.
Cinematography – what? No Banshees here? No idea then.

Original screenplay – I suspect that this will go to Martin McDonagh for Banshees, possibly leaving All Quiet for best film.

Adapted screenplay – All Quiet.

Original score – Banshees. I love the work of Alexandre Desplat, who is nominated for del Toro's Pinocchio, but Carter Burwell's score for the former is better, in my opinion.

Casting – no idea. Possibly Everything Everywhere all at Once?

Costume design – Mrs Harris Goes to Paris (left), but then again, perhaps Amsterdam, which The Other Half and I really enjoyed.

Editing – no idea and don't have the knowledge to make a judgment.

Production design – del Toro's Pinocchio.

Rising star – Sheila Atim for Woman King – a very good performance.

I'm afraid I have no idea on last few, which are technical beyond my even really having an opinion.

I think that All Quiet will bag a number, but nowhere near the 14 nominations it's received, and that Banshees will bag some of the bigger ones, split with Everything Everywhere (left).

I could end up with metaphorical egg on face, of course ... only time will tell!