History Theatre / Doubt

%%* OscarBait

** The film implies that Aloysius might have been right about Flynn molesting an altar boy, but William London instead of Donald Miller. William is shown recoiling from Flynn on several occasions and is said to take any excuse to escape from school. In the end, he smiles when Flynn announces his transfer, while Donald weeps.

->'''Father Flynn:''' "You haven't the slightest proof of anything!"
->'''Sister Aloysius:''' "But I have my certainty!"
->'''Father Flynn:''' "Even if you feel certainty, it is an emotion, not a fact."

* TheUnreveal: Wheter Father Flynn actually is molesting young boys or if it's all been a misunderstanding and paranoid campaign by Sister Aloysius is never answered.

* MinimalistCast: It is this in the play version.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Father Flynn, who is much more relaxed and informal--he wants a friendlier, more open atmosphere in his church and in his school, seems to casually disregard rules regarding how nuns and priests should interact, and wants to put secular music in the Christmas pageant--suddenly flies into a rage when Sister Aloysius admits to subverting the church's strict hierarchy to speak to a nun instead of the pastor at Father Flynn's former parish. He's clearly hiding ''something''...

* OscarBait

* PedophilePriest: Father Flynn ''may'' be one. And that's the entire point of the play.

* RightForTheWrongReasons: The film implies that Aloysius might have been right about Flynn molesting an altar boy, but William London instead of Donald Miller. William is shown recoiling from Flynn on several occasions and is said to take any excuse to escape from school. In the end, he smiles when Flynn announces his transfer, while Donald weeps.

** Donald being the only black student in his school foreshadows the rapid demographic shift and "white flight" that would soon occur in the Bronx in the late '60s.

* AmbiguousSituation: The entire story. And, considering the title and central theme, this is very much the point. The experience of watching it as an audience member can cause someone to see-saw back and forth in their opinion of Father Flynn's doubt or innocence. Apparently Shanley wrote the play with a very specific idea of whether or not Father Flynn is guilty, but refuses to tell anyone except the actors who play him (Creator/PhilipSeymourHoffman even took it to the grave with him). Everyone else (including the other actors) are left to guess.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The tiny portable radio with earbud looks quite technologically advanced for 1964, but that's what transistor radios looked like at the time.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Both Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn have their moments, as when she's caught listening to the radio she took from one of the students, or when he, for all his supposed progressiveness, has no problem lording his position over the sisters.

** Similarly, it's made clear that, while she may very well be right about him, Sister Aloysius' campaign to get him removed and suspicions are motivated far more by her personal dislike of his more liberal views compared to her staunchly conservative approach and desire to see him removed for that reason.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Father Flynn. [[AmbiguousSituation Maybe]]. At the very least, his terror and anger at learning that Sister Aloysius has been digging into his past shows he's not quite as pure as he would like to seem.

* AmbiguousSituation: The entire story. And, considering the title and central theme, this is very much the point. The experience of watching it as an audience member can cause someone to see-saw back and forth in their opinion of Father Flynn's doubt or innocence. Apparently Shanley wrote the play with a very specific idea of whether or not Father Flynn is guilty, but refuses to tell anyone except the actors who play him. Everyone else (including the other actors) are left to guess.

** Similarly, it's made clear that, while she may very well be right about him, Sister Aloysius' campaign to get him removed and suspicions are motivated far more by her dislike of his more liberal views compared to her staunchly conservative approach.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Father Flynn. [[AmbigiousSituation maybe]]. At the very least, his terror and anger at learning that Sister Aloysius has been digging into his past shows he's not quite as pure as he would like to seem.

* RiddleForTheAges: Is Father Flynn guilty or innocent?

* EndOfAnAge: Shanley pointedly sets the action in 1964, the year before the Second Vatican Council ended. The Council made a number of changes in the church that were hoped would make it more progressive, open and welcoming, just as Fr. Flynn hopes.

A 2005 Pulitzer-Prize winning play by John Patrick Shanley (famous for writing ''Moonstruck''), ''Doubt: A Parable'' also won the Tony award for best play, Creator/CherryJones (Sister Aloysius) won for Best Actress, and Adriane Lenox picked up the Best Supporting Actress trophy. A film version was released in 2008, adapted by its playwright and starring Creator/MerylStreep, Creator/PhilipSeymourHoffman, Creator/AmyAdams and Creator/ViolaDavis.

A 2005 Pulitzer-Prize winning play by John Patrick Shanley (famous for writing ''Moonstruck''), ''Doubt: A Parable'' also won the Tony award for best play, Creator/CherryJones (Sister Aloysius) won for Best Actress, and Adriane Lenox picked up the Best Supporting Actress trophy. A film version was released in 2008, adapted by its playwright and starring Creator/MerylStreep, Creator/PhilipSeymourHoffman, Creator/AmyAdams and Creator/Viola Davis.

A 2005 Pulitzer-Prize winning play by John Patrick Shanley (famous for writing ''Moonstruck''), ''Doubt: A Parable'' also won the Tony award for best play, Creator/CherryJones (Sister Aloysius) won for Best Actress, and Adriane Lenox picked up the Best Supporting Actress trophy. A film version was released in 2008, adapted by its playwright and starring Creator/MerylStreep, Creator/PhilipSeymourHoffman, Creator/AmyAdams and Viola Davis.

** To that end, Sister Aloysius herself. She is a dedicated traditionalist who firmly believes in rule-following and proper behavior; the fact that she [[spoiler: implied that she had]] broken church policy in going around the hierarchy indicates just how convinced she is that there's something terrible going on.