News
Certain Facts About Movie
December 16, 2008
Christine Haggerty Region 2
The film version of John Patrick Shanley's award-winning play "Doubt" opened Dec. 12 in limited areas. Wider distribution begins on Christmas Day.
Shanley had the Sisters of Charity of New York in his Bronx elementary school (St. Anthony's) and draws upon experiences of his youth for his play.
At the heart of this drama is a fictional event: suspected inappropriate attention from a new parish priest to a new 8th grade boy in the parochial school. There never was such an episode at Schanley's school.
The film credits state "The characters and events depicted in the photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental." But it's confusing, because Shanley dedicates the film to "Sr. Margaret McEntee, SC, formerly known as Sister James." She was his first grade teacher.
In several interviews, Shanley has said that the play isn't really about church scandals (of which there have been plenty), but it's about the certainty people had about the Iraq War. The school/church trappings are dramatic devices. Much the way that Arthur Miller's play The Crucible is supposed to really be about McCarthyism rather than the Salem witch trials.
Since our congregation is involved in this film -- Sr. Peggy McEntee was a technial advisor, many scenes were filmed at Mount Saint Vincent, the sisters in the drama wear the traditional Sisters of Charity habit with bonnet, etc. -- we've created a special section on our new web site on the movie. We'll be adding a few more pieces to what's now there at http://www.scny.org/index_doubt.html
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting have reviewed Doubt at
http://www.usccb.org/movies/d/doubt.shtml . They wrote: "Though sexual misconduct is at the heart of the story, it is the balance between doubt which, as Shanley has said, "allows for growth and
change" and premature certainty, which only leads to a "dead end" -- that forms the principal thematic subtext. His metaphorical critique is directed not at the church but at those who insist on absolutes in
society at large."
Shanley and the movie cast were on PBS' Charlie Rose last Friday. You can view that segment at
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9790 . Shanley also talked to Rose about his play when it was on Broadway in March 2005. That segment is at http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/1012
A delegation of our Sisters previewed the film in October and found it powerful. The sisters in the film are looking out for the best interests of the children in their school. As most sisters have done
over centuries.
Christine Haggerty
Director, Communications
Sisters of Charity of New York
Bronx, NY 10471-1093
|
Debbi Della Porta