At a special lunch at the Four Seasons honoring John Patrick Shanley on the achievement of the new movie "Doubt," one thing was certain: You can't take the Bronx out of the boy. Addressing a crowd of New York actors, writers, theater people and filmmakers on how the issues raised by Doubt, from the 2004 Pulitzer Prize winning play to the screen, you could hear the Irish tainted New Yorkese as he was speaking of the critical year 1964, the chaos of the sixties especially the year after the Kennedy assassination, without nostalgia. Clearly, having been raised Catholic, this was the year of doubt for him. By coincidence, the play appeared just as the scandals in the church, about inappropriate behavior between priests and congregants, broke. All this was brewing for a long time, said the playwright/screenwriter/director who, over the most delicious short ribs I've ever had, described to me the conversation about whether or not he would be the one to direct his first feature in 18 years. ("Joe and the Volcano" with Tom Hanks was his directorial debut.) Yes, you can direct it. That was it. The man with the original vision recreating successfully that story for film and directing it! The instinct to let him go for it paid off. The performances, for one thing, are superb: from his first sermon about Doubt and Certitude, Philip Seymour Hoffman is masterful as Father Flynn. Amy Adams is so good many are speaking about the Oscars for Supporting role as Sister James. What a shame to hide that milky skin under a habit! And that goes for the incomparable Meryl Streep as the Mother Superior from Hell. Viola Davis attended the elegant luncheon too. She plays Mrs. Miller, the mother of the boy used to doubt Father Flynn. "It's like I'm Dorothy and the house landed on my head," she said of the experience of working in this movie. As to acting in a screne with Meryl Streep, "You know, many movie stars save it for their closeup. They'll give you what you need, but wait to give it their all when the camera is on them. Not Meryl. She's always at 100%."
Regina Weinreich
Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura
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