DOUBT

DOUBT (2008). Written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, from his play.

Sister Beauvier (Meryl Streep) , the principal of the St. Nicholas School in the Bronx in 1964, is convinced -- without solid evidence -- that Father Brendan Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is having an inappropriate relationship with the school's only black student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster). Beauvier is a bit taken aback -- and appalled -- when the boy's mother (Viola Davis) doesn't even seem to care that much, because she also thinks her son is "that way;" apparently she, like many people back then and even today, sees little difference between homosexuality and pedophilia. The question is: is Flynn a child molester (assuming anything inappropriate actually took place between him and the boy) or does the guilty way he acts have more to do with the possibility that he is simply gay and deeply ashamed of it (as a priest today might be, let alone in 1964)? Flynn may have sensed that Donald was also homosexual (although the boy betrays no outwardly stereotypical signs) and been drawn to him out of sympathy -- not sexuality. Of course the irony is that Sister Beauvier would never have appreciated or cared about the difference. It's the acting by Streep, Hoffman and Davis -- as well as Amy Adams as Sister James -- that keep this very absorbing picture humming, but it also has a multi-faceted [if imperfect] screenplay by Shanley, touching upon everything from child molestation and gay [not pedophile] priests to the sexist patriarchy of the church and its condescending attitude toward the sisters and indeed all women. Streep at times seems a little one-dimensionally villainous, but her performance is certainly vivid; Hoffman and Davis are superb.

Verdict: Flawed, perhaps, but also intriguing and worthwhile. ***1/2.

BOOGIE NIGHTS

BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997). Director: Paul Thomas Anderson.

Mark Wahlberg is excellent as an academically disinclined young man who does have one enormous asset, and uses it to become a famous porn star named Dirk Diggler. This is clearly inspired by the story of John Holmes [aka Johnny Wadd], who was also the subject of a far superior biopic a few years later. Although it's hard to dislike the movie, the lack of a moral focus, while initially refreshing, eventually becomes a problem, but even worse is the fact that the movie meanders along for too long a length and doesn't do enough to develop any of its characters. The film is essentially a comedy that throws in moments of violence and then erupts into brutality in the film's true climax – three incidents at once – but ultimately offers no true drama. Along the way there are some nice bits – such as a scene when Dirk's friend Scotty expresses unrequited love for him [this, too, goes nowhere] – but the movie is poorly edited, with tedious tracking shots and uneventful scenes that go on for too long. This could only be considered powerful stuff by the unsophisticated. Along with Wahlberg, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Don Cheadle are stand-outs in a fine cast, but Burt Reynolds is given no real character to play. He's just the porn maker and is never developed beyond that; the limited Reynolds isn't able to add anything to his portrayal. Wahlberg, however, is quite impressive, unafraid to show emotion and vulnerability along with angst and anger. This is a good showcase for the actor; if only it were a better movie. Some viewers may overdose on the picture's disco soundtrack long before it's over.

Verdict: Interesting failure. **.

CAPOTE

CAPOTE (2005). Director: Bennett Miller.

If you're looking for a biography of Truman Capote, look elsewhere. Although this does offer some insight into the writer -- but not much -- it focuses primarily on how he came to write the book for which he is most famous: In Cold Blood. If there is a problem with the movie -- among many -- it's that it seems to cut away from certain sequences just as they start to get interesting. Capote asks murderer Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) what his first impression of him is, but we never hear the answer (one can imagine!). Except for a brief bit when the subject of whether or not Capote has fallen in love with Smith (a real possibility) comes up, Dan Futterman's somewhat superficial script never really deals with his subject's sexuality, and indeed avoids delving into Capote's questionable objectivity and other matters. Oscar-winning Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a terrific performance, however, and for the most part the rest of the cast is excellent. The film can't avoid a dated quality, however. When In Cold Blood came out it was before the current obsession with and knowledge of serial killers and sociopaths, so Capote's attempt to humanize and sympathize with the callous cretins who slaughtered an entire family fall flat. In fact, the image that stays in the mind isn't of Perry Smith being hanged, but teenage Nancy Clutter being shot by him. The terrified girl's eyes are open; she's awake and knows what's about to happen to her. She undoubtedly heard the shots that took the lives of the rest of the family. And we're supposed to feel sorry for Smith? Bruce Greenwood is cast in the thankless role of Capote's friend Jack Dunphy. The character is so undefined as to be pointless. Catherine Keener is fine as Harper To Kill a Mockingbird Lee. Beautifully photographed by Adam Kimmel.

Verdict: Not at all what it could have been. **1/2.

EMPIRE FALLS

EMPIRE FALLS (2005). HBO mini-series. Directed by Fred Schepesi. Screenplay by Richard Russo, from his novel.

This must be a pretty dumbed-down adaptation of the novel because otherwise one can't imagine why on earth anyone would think it was worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. Miles Roby (Ed Harris) lives in the town of Empire Falls, Maine, where he runs a diner for the local matriarch Francine Whiting (Joanne Woodward). While he deals with his ex-wife (Helen Hunt), daughter, half-drunk father (Paul Newman, pictured), and others, Miles also thinks back to when he was a young boy and he spent a summer with his mother and Francine's husband, Charlie (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Frankly, the flashbacks scattered through this meandering two-part movie only make things so confusing that many viewers may not even "get" the big secret about Miles and why Francine seems to delight in making his life miserable. The movie becomes a little more interesting when we're introduced to Francine's lame and emotionally disturbed daughter, who's been unrequitedly in love with Miles for decades, but this sub-plot sort of goes nowhere, which is true with many other situations in the movie. There are too many cliches and stereotyped, "cutesy" characters and the sappy, mediocre musical score seems to be trying to alert us that this is supposed to be something "meaningful' and "significant." Fat chance. It all comes off like superficial Stephen King without the horror except for a Columbine-like shooting scene that is thrown in for good measure. The acting is generally better than the picture deserves. Newman's performance isn't exactly a "great" one but he's not bad at all as Max. Like a soap opera without the sex.

Verdict: Phony and a bit dull all told. **.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 (2006). Directed by J. J. Abrahms.

This is a big improvement on the disappointing, lackluster Mission Impossible 2. Tom Cruise is back as an IMF agent who has decided to leave the field on the eve of his wedding. But various events keep taking him away from the lady in his life, and eventually he's forced to disobey orders so that he can go to her rescue. His main adversary in this is a nasty arms dealer named Davian, played with marvelously intense menace by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Ving Rhames is likable as a fellow agent, and Laurence Fishburne is excellent as IMF Director Brassel, who may or may not be working with Davian. There are many exciting sequences in the film, which is briskly directed by J.J. Abrahms of Alias fame. Highlights include the snatching of Davian from within Vatican city, and a mission to steal a top secret project from a Shanghai skyscraper. While MI3 is by no means a classic, it is certainly an entertaining time-passer. An amusing aspect of the MI movies is that the scripts borrow from old movie serials such as Hurricane Express in that the characters occasionally employ the use of heavy masks as disguises – Cruise becomes Hoffman at one point via a mask – with the other actor substituting for the one in disguise at an appropriate moment. The thing is that whether it's in Hurricane Express or the much more high-tech Mission Impossible 3 it's never believable that anyone would actually be fooled by the mask!

Verdict: High-energy action. ***.