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Doubt comes to A Nun’s Life
This Thursday A Nun’s Life is hosting a discussion about Doubt, the movie about a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him of having an improper relationship with a student. The discussion will be here on the blog on January 8 from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Eastern Time.
We will be joined by two Sisters of Charity of New York, the community of nuns who are featured in the film — Sister Connie Brennan, SC, the community’s archivist and Sister Regina Bechtle, SC. I am delighted and honored that they can join us and give us their impression of the movie, the making of the movie, and their experience as Sisters of Charity.
I just saw the movie with Sister Maxine Kollasch, IHM, so I’ll write up my own review of the movie and post it here prior to the discussion. I encourage you to see the move (or play) and join us for an online discussion about the movie, the Sisters of Charity, and other related topics.
If you have any questions now for the Sisters of Charity or Sister Maxine and myself, please offer them below and we’ll try to incorporate them into Thursday’s conversation.
Doubt is based on the play by John Patrick Shanley who also adapted and directed the movie version. The cast is stunning with Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. 
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A timely announcement considering today (January 4) is the feast of Elizabeth Seton: http://www.setonshrine.org/bio/bio.htm
I saw the play last year (and am looking forward to seeing the movie). The play was masterfully performed to leave you with no resolution but your own…..doubt. My friend and I attended together and spent the return drive home (close to an hour) discussing it – both bringing different observations to the discussion.
I won’t be able to join the discussion on Thursday. It is sure to be a lively one!
I haven’t seen this film yet but do plan on going with my husband in a few weeks when my daughter is gone on a ski trip. I don’t know Meryll Streep personally but she is related to some friends of the family. She is also from northern New Jersey – historically a stronghold for the Sisters of Charity of Convent Station (very close to New York). Meryll is at least part Irish. I’m not sure whether or not she is or was Catholic but her relatives I know are. I’m wondering if she herself had Sisters of Charity as school teachers. Anyway, I digress.
I understand this film is about some rather unsavory situations within Catholic life. As we know, these situations have and do exist. It is a part of our history whether we like it or not. There is no denying it. Admittedly, this type of theme often makes for a healthy profit. But here is the real question: Is there a specifically anti-Catholic agenda in this film or is it just pure entertainment designed to make money?
Also, a side question, how true to the times is the portrayal of that fictional situation in the early 1960s? Also did the SC wear those bonnets back then? I thought they had those “flying nun” type of veils.
dee
I saw the movie and still don’t know what to think of it. I don’t think my parents do, either. We just happened to see a Sister at the movie and we were talking about the movie with her.
One thing I think we can all agree on: it has the perfect title.
First; an excellent, realistic portrayal of the boy, the sister(s) and the
suspect priest. Anti-Catholic agenda: no. And a commercial film is
allowed to make money on its investment AND portray serious
matter. This is entertainment, yes, based
on admittedly large numbers of cases where clergy are in, or seek,
situations where potential targets exist, e.g. schools.
Question about the sisters habits. There are many branches of Sisters of Charity including those depicted, with varied habits. The starched white headgear rerferred to gave rise to the
name ” God’s Geese.” These were known for their hospital work
but I believe they were also school sisters. The 1960s were a time
of changing habits and “habits” in the convent. The bonnets were
not anacronistic for that time.
Good discussion points: 1. the Mother’s take on the situation: very realistic and even willing to overlook if her
boy could get a chance in an antagonistic world. How she walked
with the principal and let out her feelings was most striking and not
to be overlooked. 2. the priest saying point blank to the principal: We are in charge in the church; you are not, so bug off. 3. The all too typical conclusion for the clergy; well we’ll transfer father to another parish and that will take care of things. Right. The transfer solution
was practiced innumerable times. Until the dam broke finally.
And of course, the doubt, after all, generated in everyone in the film
in the end.
BarbaraKB … How providential! Didn’t even realize that. Thanks
Teri … I want to see the play now; the movie had some pretty fierce (as in intense) scenes that made me shake, so I’d love to see it performed in the flesh, as it were. Do check back any time — the discussion is public and will be archived.
Dee … good questions! I’ll pass them along to the Sisters of Charity. I think you’ll like the movie, at least in the sense that it gives one a lot to consider and wrestle with. Provocative in a good way. As a Catholic sister, I was fully prepared to be confronted with stereotypes (both Catholic and nun ones) in the movie and to my surprise and joy, it was done very thoughtfully and I was not offended at all.
Katie … Sister Max and I are both with you on that. She saw it one way and I another and still we remain … in doubt.
Dave … good points. The scene with the mother (supremely portrayed by Viola Davis) totally rocked me. It (along with Sister Aloysius and Father’s yelling match) was one of the best scenes. Utterly real, gut-wrenching. Will write more about that in my review.
It was the Daughters of Charity that wore the coronets that got them the nickname “God’s Geese.” The Sisters of Chrity wore the same black bonnet that St. Eliabeth Ann Seaton wore, which was the garb of the widows of the Lombardy region of Italy where she was living when her husband died. Some of the SCs still wore a modified bonnet last time I saw some in the early 1990s.
Okay, I see that the SCs are an offshoot of the DCs, but the bonnet vs. coronet is still correct.
I saw the play when it opened in Boston (you can imagine how interested folks here were, since we were the “epicenter” of the clergy sex-abuse scandals). I saw the movie this week and was very impressed with the acting; however, I thought the actor who played Sr. Aloysius in the play was better than Streep at the end. In that last scene, I thought Meryl Streep “overacted.” It just didn’t work for me. I noticed in the credits that a real-live Sr. of Charity had been a consultant and the film was also dedicated to her–could she have been the real live “Sr. Aloysius”? Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Violet (can’t recall her surname) were excellent. So, too, was Streep–except for that last scene (IMHO).
Oh I loved this movie!! So good, and so intense. Sr. Aloysius pretty much defines the “mean nun” stereotype, but she turns out to be sort of the heroine of the story (depending on how you interpret it) so it’s really quite interesting.
My favourite line of the movie: “I don’t care what Pope it is!”
I will be at work during your discussion so I won’t be able to drop in on the live talk. I look forward to reading it later. I felt the movie was well done, well cast, and well named — yes, I still felt doubt at the conclusion. I think Amy Adams is adorable in her role. I loved the pivotal scene where she did use the glass of the Pope’s picture frame to see the class while she was writing on the chalk board. Everyone in the theater laughed when Sr. Aloysious said it didn’t matter if it was the current Pope or not. There are so many themes that can be brought out of that film.
Oh, dear! Watching the class in the reflection on the glass reminds me of my novitiate. We used to have a picture of the Holy Face in the hallway between the novitate and the chapel. It was at the right height for us to get one last peek at ourselves to see if our veil was on straight. The professed sisters thought we had such a great devotion–until they realized what we were REALLY doing.
That’s when they moved the picture.
I put Sr. Helena’s website address in place of mine; she did a review of the movie, and I am encouraging her to join the conversation if her schedule permits on the 8th.
i’m a writer and i was wondering, did the sisters of charity ever run orphanages? (pardon my lower case, i use it for every cyber-thing.)
Were the sisters worried how the film directors/editors would portray their order?
Did Meryll Streep shadow the nuns for research?
What was their favorite line or scene from the movie ?
What do you do when you’re not sure?
Thanks for all the good observations and questions. I’ve forwarded the questions to the Sisters of Charity and will post them during the discussion.