2008 December 11 — Toronto Screen Shots

Doubt (2008, Director: John Patrick Shanley): Directing his own Tony award-winning play, John Patrick Shanley is helped enormously by a stellar cast, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Viola Davis. All four were recently honoured with Golden Globe nominations, as was Shanley’s script. The film, set in 1964 at a Catholic school in the Bronx, is essentially a battle of wills between Father Flynn (Hoffman), the charismatic and progressive parish priest, and Sister Aloysius (Streep), the authoritarian principal of the school. There are many reasons for their enmity, including the general segregation of priests and nuns and their differing views of tradition, but something causes her to suspect Flynn of sexually abusing a young black student. The title has many shades of meaning, but most obviously, it is a seed planted by the older woman in the mind of Sister James (Adams), and idealistic young nun who looks up to Flynn.

There is much in the script to savour, and by the end, we’re really not sure what to think of each of our players, but the combination of an intelligent script and a cast of first-rate actors make this compelling from start to finish. And surprisingly, for a film dealing with such a heavy topic, there’s quite a lot of humour. Shanley’s deft touch is not surprising, considering he’s working with his own material, but the art direction and cinematography are just right as well, making this much more than just a filmed performance of the play.

Though I’m sure this will reward multiple viewings, it was interesting to me that the children in the film, especially the one at the centre of the allegations, are curiously pushed to the sidelines as the battle of wills plays out. As well, there is very little discussion of faith in God, since it seems to be more about some of the institutions of the Church. One of my half-formed theories is that the rigid separation of men and women in the Catholic clergy naturally leads to suspicion and jealousy on the part of the women, who have less power. As well, Sister Aloysius stood for a kind of virtue that has nothing to do with compassion, while Flynn was the man of weakness who can empathize with his congregation. I’ll be very curious to see how the Christian community responds to the film.

If I have just one pet peeve, it’s that almost every single time you hear of a Catholic priest nowadays, it’s in relation to some past sexual abuse allegation. It’s a shame that this stereotype ignores the many many fine men who served their congregations and schools selflessly. I grew up attending Catholic schools in the 1970s, and happily have no horror stories to report. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Official site of the film
Trailer on the Apple site

9/10 (9/10)

Tagged as: christianity, faith

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Editor’s Note: Doc Soup is a monthly documentary screening programme run by the good folks at Hot Docs. It gives audiences in Toronto (and now Calgary and Vancouver!) their regular doc fix each year from the fall through to the spring, leading up to the Hot Docs festival itself.

Chris and Don. A Love Story (2007, Directors: Tina Mascara and Guido Santi): Don Bachardy was just 16 when he met Christopher Isherwood on a gay beach in Southern California. Prudently, Isherwood waited until Don was 18 before making his move. That is, if a 48-year-old man picking up a teenager can ever be considered prudent. Despite a 30-year age difference, Don and Chris built a lasting relationship that continued until Isherwood’s death (at the age of 82) in 1986. Based mostly on interviews with Bachardy, now in his 70s, Chris and Don is a sweet remembrance of a unique relationship, but as a film, I found it a bit flat.

I knew before seeing it that I’d be comparing it with Bob and Jack’s 52-Year Adventure, which explored similar territory, but with the benefit of having both parties alive to tell each side of the story. Sweet as Don’s remembrances of Chris might be, there’s not much drama there. Talking about a well-loved spouse who’s been gone more than twenty years is bound to become an exercise tainted by nostalgia. Though there were a few bumps in the relationship, Don (or the directors) seemed to gloss over them.

Perhaps most uncomfortable for me was the vast difference in their ages, as well as the fact that Isherwood was a well-known writer while Don was an admitted celebrity-seeker. Both men sought things in their relationship which are generally best found outside of a romantic entanglement. The number of times the father-son dynamic was mentioned was remarkable, and yet the directors didn’t dig very deeply into what could have been disturbing territory. Isherwood found in Bachardy the son he never had, as well as the youth he had lost. In return, Bachardy found a replacement for his disapproving father, as well as a teacher and someone who could introduce him to other famous people. There is a moment when Don recalls his frustration at being completely formed by Isherwood, and I’d have been curious to see more of that, especially since he now seems to have completely made peace with the fact that everything he has achieved in his life (he is an accomplished portrait painter) has been under the patronage of his husband.

Technically, the film is solid but unadventurous, although it does attempt some whimsy by animating images Isherwood drew of his pet names for himself (an old horse) and Bachardy (a cat). I found the animations crudely executed, though my wife thought they were cute.

Overall, then, it felt like a bit of a missed opportunity to me. I can understand the directors’ reticence since they had such great access to Bachardy, but I think some tougher questions could have made the film stronger.

Official site of the film

6/10 (6/10)