Having seen Doubt on stage, as I watched the film I paid attention to how the film differed from the stage version. Certainly there are differences; the most obvious is that on stage Doubt had only four characters: Father Flynn, Sister Aloysius, Sister James, and Mrs. Muller. The film, on the other hand, has a number of side characters, and loads of extras in church and in the school. The change in medium makes a great deal of difference to the experience of the story. Scenes that aren't possible on stage give a great deal of insight into the characters. For example, there are dinner scenes in the convent and in the rectory. The sisters eat their meals in silence under Sister Aloysius's stern glare. In the rectory the priests laugh heartily as Father Flynn shares a story.

Another important difference is that film can allow much more visual imagery. In the film version of Doubt there are many scenes of the wind carrying leaves around the courtyard and of storms. These images in particular give a heightened understanding of the theme underlying the plot. The plot may be about whether or not Father Flynn did anything inappropriate with Donald Muller, but that is just a vehicle for a deeper meaning. It is of note that the stage version was entitled Doubt: A Parable. A parable is a story that has a different plane of meaning. The additional visual images available in the film give us some key information in understanding the parable.

First, we should note the importance of the time in which the story is set. 1964 was a time of transition in Catholicism. In the fall of 1964 (the setting of the story) the third session of Vatican II was drawing to an end. The Second Vatican Council was a gathering of bishops from around the world to examine and promulgate Catholic teaching. When Pope John XXIII called for the council, he said he wanted to "open the windows and examine the state of the church." That council lead to great changes in the Catholic Church, including the use of local language in the mass and having the priest face the congregation during the liturgy. We see in the film Fr. Flynn facing away as he mumbles the Latin liturgy. All of this would soon change.

The first sign of possible change we see in the film is during the first sermon that Fr. Flynn preaches, during which there is a shot of one of the altar boys looking up and seeing a dove flying in the dome of the church. The dove (as with the wind that is often present in the film) is a sign of the Holy Spirit. (The Greek word often translated as "spirit" means "breath" or "wind".) Does that imply that the Spirit is driving the changes that are coming to the church, or does it speak to the Spirit already present in the traditions that are being observed as they have been for generations? As Sr. Aloysius notes at one point, "The wind is so peripatetic this year. Is that the word I want?" It is indeed. The Spirit comes from many often unexpected directions. Peripatetic also carries a connotation of instruction. The wind in the film is a reminder that the Spirit is the driving force within the church.

The possibility of change may be understood as a good thing or a threat. Those two attitudes towards the shifts about to take place in the Church are personified in Fr. Flynn and Sr. Aloysius. Fr. Flynn opens the play with the question, "What do you do when you aren't sure?" He speaks of doubt as something not to be avoided, but that must be encountered in life. He does not suggest that you just learn the answer to the questions and follow the traditions and teachings that have been handed down. Rather he sees the struggle with doubt as a way of finding still more faith. He speaks with the spirit of the emerging church of Vatican II. When we see the dinner in the rectory, we see a place filled with joy and community.

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