Acting was pretty great. It could get a little heavy handed at times, and I can't see that 15 degree camera tilt without thinking about the 60s Batman TV show, but no major complaints.

Meryl Streep killed it. From the very beginning of the film, even before the drama with PSH gets rolling, she owns every scene she's in. Not a likable character necessarily, but not the 'villain' I went in expecting her to be. She obviously cares about the church, her sisters, and those kids, and ultimately isn't afraid to be the big scary principal that all the kids hate and fear if it's for (what she perceives to be) their own good. Out of all the characters in the film, she seems the only one willing to sacrifice her self for her beliefs. The problem there is she isn't afraid to sacrifice others too, and her beliefs might not be all that solid to begin with.

But as for the 'doubts' she mentions at the end of the film (btw I agree they could have done without her actually shouting the title of the movie there) I don't think that they had a thing to do with the priest, at least not consciously. I think the doubts she deals with are in her faith and in the church. We're talking about a woman who thinks ball point pens and Frosty the Snowman spell the downfall of civilization - Not exactly the outlook of a person who has thrown their faith into an all powerful all loving God, you know?

Meanwhile you have this likable, charismatic priest who has a warm personable attitude and these progressive views that make him easier to relate to. But, I could also see how a guy like that could be very manipulative if he wanted to be - like showing the pressed flowers to Sister James. Was that sincere or was he just trying to look good? You'd see how he'd behave quite differently depending on what company he was in, which I think we all do to a degree, but that made him a lot harder to pin down than Sister Aloysius. Like Sister James I wanted him to be innocent. I do think there were subtle things in his body language that had me thinking otherwise (saying "no" while nodding "yes" for example, during that heated ass scene that leads to his resignation) At the same time, doing things like openly hugging a male student in a crowded hallway - while unacceptable by today's standards - doesn't seem like the actions of a man who had anything inappropriate to hide.

It's interesting that before any allegations some into play (and I went into the movie having no idea what it was about), I was slightly uncomfortable at the sight of a priest and an altar boy alone together. Nothing inappropriate was taking place on screen, or even in the subtext necessarily, but I guess the real life scandals that have come to light in the past years have painted my own perceptions. Even though this movie takes place in the 60s, I got the impression aht Sister Aloyisus had at some point seen some scandals of her own which tainted her worldview too.

The big strength of the writing was how masterfully ambiguous it was. Every line of dialogue, every facial expression, every action was open to interpretation.

Father Flynn had something in his past that was haunting him, likely to do with his sexuality. It seemed like a strong possibility that he was gay, NOT a pedophile, which could also explain why he would relate to Donald Miller and want to watch out for him. And maybe he only resigned to get away from crazy ass Sister Aloysius. Or hell, maybe he really was messing with those kids. Guess we'll just have to wait for the sequel.

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