Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the rigid and fear-inspiring principal of the Saint Nicholas Church School, suffers an extreme dislike for the progressive and popular parish priest Father Flynn. Looking for wrongdoing in every corner, Sister Aloysius believes she's uncovered the ultimate sin when she hears Father Flynn has taken a special interest in a troubled boy. But without proof, the only thing certain is doubt.

An extremely gripping film that does a sensational job of locking you in and taking you for a ride. Doubt is filled with outstanding performances and I’m actually stunned that Streep didn’t take home the Oscar this year. As the title suggests this film tests your ability to see through opinion and try and come up with your own conclusions. Few films do such a good job at creating such subtle ambiguity and I must say I really enjoyed the ride. A solid drama that is definitely worth a look.

The photography in this one is excellent and I loved the stark contrast and bleek look of the film. Blacks are deep with excellent shadow detail and the film has a wonderful sense of dimension. Detail is preserved nicely though there are some instances where the finest details are lacking compared to some of the reference titles out on the market right now. Still, this one delivers a solid HD presentation.

The soundtrack is delivered in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and I was really impressed with the spatial design. The church sequences give a nice full body to the surround soundstage and really make you feel like you’re right there. Surrounds add a nice sense of space and atmosphere and really help fill the room. Dialogue is the key ingredient in the mix and tonal balance is dead on with no signs of strain at all. Dynamics are a bit limited but this was expected given the subject. The score does a superb job of filling the main soundstage and adds a nice layer to the mood of the film.

Extras include a look at transforming the original play to a feature film and a behind the scenes look at casting the film, scoring it and the nuns. You also get a feature commentary with the director.

This is an emotionally charged drama that really does deliver the best of the genre. The performances are outstanding and Miramax has done a great job with the presentation. Highly recommended.