Film &book reviews

A peak into the world of St. Nicholas school brought me into a whirlwind. When I realized this was filmed in the Bronx, it was the reddish brown bricked buildings that surrounded Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) and Mrs. Miller (Viola Davis). There was a nostalgia that tethered my mind into that scene. The day looked chilly but brisk, the wind held it’s breath as they walked. I felt myself close by, watching them from a window.

Inevitably, there are themes of race when we meet Mrs. Miller (Viola Davis). She is fantastic as always, raw with emotion. Imagine a woman that is sought out to engage in something that would not necessarily benefit her at all. She stands there, dumb founded, removing herself. Sister Aloysius is strong but there was a sheltered response when she couldn’t connect with Mrs. Miller. She came from a place of concern. Determined to do something. I felt emotional watching this scene for many reasons. A desperation that could be contained if the right person took action.

Mise en scene

The lighting was comforting because there was a dullness to it that wanted to bring rain but instead it pushed itself along. The wind picked up and there was fear lingering like a dark cloud. The children were youthful; lives tender and malleable as they waited patiently for guidance. As I watched them, I considered their innocence as something good. When you think back to your childhood, it’s hard to know the exact moment that innocence was truly lost.

Sister James (Amy Adams) is such an innocent character, almost childlike. We see some shifts later but it all goes back to innocence. There was a softness that could be felt, endearing and poised. Yet, Sister James remained inquisitive in her arrival to St. Nicholas. When she meets Sister Aloysius, the Principal, she is quickly awoken to the realities that she may have not been exposed to before. To be shielded from the evils of the world to believe that only good exist.

Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) creates an atmosphere of authority — Her voice proud and strong. I admired her in a way because she seemed just how a head nun would! Meryl Streep played to her strengths in this adaptation, reeling in that strictness that she embodies in all her work. Her authority was firm; We have to protect the children mentality. There is a power in her position that makes you believe that she is a true guardian. Sister James represents all of us who enter her world — St. Nicholas grounds — as we unravel the evil that lives among us.

In the 1960s, The Bronx was starting to burn and communities were changing at an unforeseeable pace. The children seem proper enough, making it difficult to identify the majority class. They use pencil instead of pens but that was by choice. As I listened to Sister A talk about how pens can cause them to be illiterate and write sloppy, it led me to look into ballpoint pens, when they were created and so on. In doing that, research indicated that ballpoint pens are tied to literacy rates. It made me think of humanity as a whole, all the creations that have become universal. All these things become social tools that can either be good or bad. There is a relentless exhaustion in the classroom. Young children in the beginning of it all, minds waiting to be shaped.

The Symbol of Windows

I’ve always admired stained glass windows. In the church, the one that sits to the west appears with an eye in middle. The light shines through it and reflects on you as if to say: “Good Morning.” The director (John Patrick Shanley) did an incredible job in the use of the symbolism within this film. It is said: “windows can be the pathway to the soul.” These rectangular frames installed into the wall; the sun shines through, you pull the curtains to shut it out because it’s blinding.

Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) gives sermons with a distinctness to them that makes you listen closely. Hanging on to every word in the congregation, wondering if hope could ever be enough. I’ve always thought that to be a pastor, to be called Father — there was an intense power to it. To trust that you can be guided by the words that are spoken because you yourself cannot quite put them together as they do. Even when Sister James asked him whether his sermon was about anyone in particular, he smirked.

There’s a comfort in knowing that this figure is meant to support you and protect you. But it is possible to doubt these things too.

Sister Aloysius opened windows while Father Flynn closed them. There was an unsettling dynamic of power between them. Hierarchy in the church was distinct and each duty to be fulfilled. The window could expose one’s plights and Father Flynn preferred to stay in the dark, drinking all the wine.

Father Flynn is both charismatic and engaging but there is a darkness to him. “The dragon is hungry” he laughs. Sister Aloysius beholds the dragon in it’s entirety, reeling herself against the fire.

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“How many sugars?”

“Three, please” he says.

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Doubt is an umbrella for discernment, attention, and the ability to see beyond what we are taught to see.

Watching this movie during this current sociopolitical climate was unnerving, uncomfortable. With the release of files that contain such graphic material makes you wonder about the items we haven’t seen or they haven’t allowed to be shown. Sometimes, there is just no doubting. That gut feeling is almost never wrong.

Watch this between the hours of 5-7 prime meridian.