Movies & More: 'Doubt,' Valkyrie deliver drama with powerful plots

Movies & More reviewer John Gillispie thinks that anyone looking for great dramatic performances should check out the work of Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt." Gillispie also recommends the intense story of an attempt to overthrow Hitler in "Valkyrie." Both films are rated PG-13.

I know that TV dramas exist because I see them as I channel surf past them to find a comedy or educational program.

When I am at home, I want to relax and laugh with a sitcom or even learn something. Life seems dramatic enough to me. Besides, I save my drama watching for the movies. And this is the time of year that the movies deliver on the drama.

As everyone hopes for Oscar glory, the dramas start coming out of the woodwork.

The movie "Doubt" offers four outstanding acting performances. In fact, the four actors -- Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis -- were all honored with Golden Globe nominations and will probably all receive Oscar nominations as well.

The story takes place in a Catholic school in New York in 1964. Streep plays Sister Aloysius, a nun whom you do not want to make angry. As principal of the school, she is devoted to her job, but she is tough on the children. Amy Adams is Sister James, a young teacher who doesn't believe in being so inflexible with the children, but who sees that she can learn a few things about teaching from Streep's character.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is Father Brendan Flynn, the parish priest who also is shown teaching the boys physical education. He takes a special interest in one young student, who happens to be the only African-American student in the school. His fear is that the student will be bullied, and if he shows him extra attention, the other students might leave the child alone.

But Streep's character comes to believe that the priest has started an inappropriate relationship with the student. She has no proof but only a feeling that something isn't right. She confronts the priest, who denies wrongdoing, but she doesn't believe him. She then informs the child's mother (Viola Davis), who gives a gut-wrenching performance herself.

What a lot of people will not like about "Doubt" is that it does not hit the viewer over the head with explanations. This is an open-ended tale in which the viewer must come to his or her own conclusions about what has happened. As in real life, we seldom have all the answers or information to know completely what has happened to other people in our lives.

This movie is meant for viewers to take sides and figure out the story for themselves. Enjoying four amazing acting performances makes the movie incredibly powerful.

Speaking of powerful stories, "Valkyrie" delivers an amazing account of a German officer's attempt to kill Hitler and seize control of the government. Fed up with the atrocities committed by Hitler, Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) comes up with a plan from within Hitler's forces to overthrow the dictator. "Valkyrie" shows how close the plan comes to being successful.

Some people have complained about the actors in the movie not using German accents. Well, this is an established movie trick in which the viewer knows the characters should be speaking in another language, but we suspend our disbelief in order not to read subtitles. This is not a German movie. It's an American film, which goes out of its way at the beginning to make the point that in reality, Col. Stauffenberg would be speaking and writing in German.

This is a good film and the second half of "Valkyrie" really had me wrapped up in its story.

So, it looks as though my New Year's resolution to see more movies at the theater is already starting to pay off.

John Gillispie is the public relations director for the Huntington Museum of Art. Contact the writer at jgillisp@hmoa.org.

The Associated Press

In this image released by MGM, Tom Cruise portrays Claus von Stauffenberg, left, and Carice Van Houten portrays his wife, Nina, in "Valkyrie."

The Associated Press

In this image released by MGM, Tom Cruise portrays Claus von Stauffenberg in "Valkyrie."

The Associated Press

In this image released by Miramax Film Corp., Meryl Streep portrays Sister Aloysius in a scene from "Doubt."

The Associated Press

In this image released by Miramax Film Corp., Philip Seymour Hoffman portrays Father Flynn, left, and Amy Adams portrays Sister James in a scene from "Doubt."