On the most basic plot level, the film Doubt is the story of a mid '60s Catholic school, a priest accused of inappropriate behavior with a student, and the school principal determined to do something about it. But as its title indicates, Doubt is about more than just that. Although Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) could have done something wrong, he may very well have done nothing at all. Although Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) may truly believe that she is taking necessary action to protect her students, she may very well just be denying them one of their most loyal protectors. The question is: Which truth is the right one? And the answer: Let's just say, over ten years after the play upon which the film is based debuted on Broadway, it's still up for debate.

Not so much a mystery to be solved, Doubt is more an exploration of what it looks like to seek truth in an uncertain world. As Father Flynn acknowledges when the movie opens, to be unsure is not pleasant. When our stability and certainty is disrupted, we find ourselves disoriented and hopeless. We begin to question that which we once believed to be true and seek out an explanation that will again make sense of it all. But as the movie and Father Flynn's following sermons reveal, even though there is truth in this world, doubt is something none of us will ever be completely able to shake. We can ignore and/or explain it away, we can allow it to overwhelm us, or instead we can acknowledge it for what it is and have faith that even the most profound doubts will eventually lead us to the truth. The question is: What will we choose?

In the case of Sister Aloysius, doubt is a nuisance to be dispatched as soon as it creeps into the picture. When she suspects that Father Flynn may be struggling with disorientation in his own life, she puts her nuns on guard to figure out what that disorientation may be. When Sister James (Amy Adams) comes to her with the suspicion that Father Flynn may have mistreated Donald Miller (Joseph Foster), she immediately latches onto the incident as a truth that needs to be remedied. And as she goes after Father Flynn for the crime she is certain he has committed, any alternate explanation becomes nothing more than a lie attempting to hide what she knows to be true.

Then there's the younger, more innocent Sister James. While Sister Aloysius is woman of rules, regulations, and unwavering judgment, Sister James begins the film as a woman of compassion, kindness, and understanding. As such, her truth is one easily challenged by doubt. Although she may have always looked up to Father Flynn, as soon as Sister Aloysius puts a doubt in her mind as to his character, she almost immediately sees in him evidence of that doubt. Of course turn the tables the other way, present Father Flynn's logical defense of his character, and Sister James is right back where she began. As Sister Aloysius keeps crusading against Father Flynn and Father Flynn continues to defend himself, Sister James' two powerful elders nearly tear her down the middle. In her classroom, she wavers between reflections of the stern Sister Aloysius and the compassionate Father Flynn. And at night, she lies awake tortured by the uncertainty of not knowing whether she has acted according to the truth or not.

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