Although Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are certain to dominate all discussion of director/writer John Patrick Shanley's cinematic adaptation of Doubt, Viola Davis steals the film in its most memorable scene. The film never fully disengages from its theatrical origin—not necessarily a bad thing, given its Pulitzer Prize winning credentials and given the caliber of actors drawn to the project. But while Streep and Hoffman throw their acting arsenal at each other with raised eyebrows, penetrating stares, and measured vocal enhancements, Davis offers a simple sincerity that strikes the heart so powerfully that Streep's only response can be silence.

Once known as the most tearful actress working cinema (The Deerhunter, Sophie's Choice), Streep more recently has embraced her dragon-lady persona passionately, even upping the subtleties of The Devil Wore Prada for her role here as tyr disciplinarian Catholic school principal Sister Aloysius. Set in 1964 (with reference to JFK's recent assassination) under Pope Paul VI, the Catholic Church was in a state of transition, so contrasting with Sister Aloysius' old school ways of striking fear is progressive, sensitive Sister James (Amy Adams). Alarmed by the sermon on “Doubt,” Sister Aloysius strongly cautions the school's sisters to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior. Inevitably, Sister James reports Father Flynn for possible inappropriate behavior between Father Flynn and the school's first African-American student Donald Miller (Joseph Foster II).

Appropriately, the play leaves this open-ended so theater and film goers can discuss ad nauseum in post mortems. How can we know what the facts are in closed door sessions between the priest and the twelve year old boy? Is Sister Aloysius' intuition stronger on reality than the humanistic plausibilities offered by Flynn? Which direction should the church take in its transitional state? How do we find the proper balance between discipline and compassion? How exactly can the church determine what is true? These form a portion of the provocative questions that Doubt probes and make it a worthwhile experience despite cinematic weaknesses.

The film contains plenty of delicious morsels. A vivid contrast between the lively warm dinner of the priest with the death camp style of the sisters and details illustrating how memorizing multiplication tables was used for punishment and just how a papal picture could be utilized to give the illusion that a sister truly had eyes in the back of her head are all memorable moments. And of course the highly anticipated face-off between Streep and Hoffman remain satisfying despite being such an obvious play for Oscar nods.

Less effective is a too literal visual translation of Father Flynn's allegory about the nature of gossip, but this is a small quibble. The film remains effective on multiple levels and hits home viscerally when Mrs. Miller soulfully pleads the case for her son's humanity. That is the moment that still lingers with me ... a week after seeing the film. That scene alone would be enough to recommend watching Doubt, but it contains a number of other thought-provoking virtues well worth experiencing.