Great Character: Father Brendan Flynn (“Doubt”)

This month’s theme: Great Philip Seymour Hoffman characters. Today: Guest poster Jason Cuthbert looks at Father Brendan Flynn from the 2008 movie Doubt, written by John Patrick Shanley.

With the melancholy gloom of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death still hovering over my head like a frightening swarm of locusts (7/23/1967–2/2/2014), I find myself zooming in on two particular reasons why he has consistently been among my favorite actors ever — his humble vulnerability and his internal intensity. That rare balance of strength and weakness pulled Hoffman inside the cinematic souls of emotionally troubled personalities with raw, unabashed sincerity. PSH made us believe in his performances by simply illuminating every nugget of humanity inside individuals that aren’t always the easiest to relate to. His challenges became our reward.

Therefore, It comes as no surprise that Philip Seymour Hoffman’s vulnerability and intensity both aided him in gaining his 2nd of both his three Academy Award nominations and three Golden Globe noms for his candid portrayal of Father Brendan Flynn in the 2008 Catholic Church drama Doubt. The guilt or innocence of Father Flynn’s perceived child molestation is never played with any definitive winks to inform the audience of the verdict when his accusers aren’t looking. Hoffman’s man of the cloth presides over our attentive eyes with both feet firmly planted in his reality, causing us to question both our faith and doubts in Flynn’s alibi.

Doubt from IMDB:

A Catholic school principal questions a priest’s ambiguous relationship with a troubled young student.

Poignant playwright John Patrick Shanley adapted his own theatrical theater play into one for the big screen that he also rendered visually as a director. Facing off with the legendary Meryl Streep (Sister Aloysius Beauvier) and the increasingly impressive Amy Adams (Sister James) made for a triumphant trilateral tug-of-war for Hoffman to bless us with.

FATHER BRENDAN FLYNN: [to Sister James about Sister Aloysius] The dragon is hungry.

With the bitterly judgmental senior Sister Aloysius convicting him immediately and the softer, naïve young Sister James clinging to her benefit of the doubt modus operandi, Doubt becomes a forum for Father Flynn to make believers out of his clergy disciples.

FATHER BRENDAN FLYNN: Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. When you are lost, you are not alone.

On one hand, we have faith in Father Flynn’s colorblind heart that leaps to protect Donald Miller, the only African American member of their Catholic school from facing harsh alienation. But then there is also that private meeting during class time, noticeable singular attentiveness towards this young man, a certain trip to Donald’s locker and Flynn’s multiple church relocations that stir up some serious “doubt,” especially from Sister Aloysius.

Father Flynn doesn’t crack under pressure, but he isn’t exactly all the way mended together either. He makes it perfectly clear that he is none too understanding about being considered a pedophile.

FATHER BRENDAN FLYNN: Even if you feel certainty, it is an emotion not a fact.

As a priest, Flynn is completely aware of the power of his reputation and his reliance on keeping it pristine. Having his name highlighted with sinful whispers up and down the holy halls of his church is about as bad as getting caught dancing with the devil himself. The meticulous Flynn may have failed to win over the room when Sister Aloysius and Sister James initially confront him. But he proceeds to craft a sermon built around “gossip” that he uses to burn down the rumor mill before it spins out of control.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OmBXWA0Rfc

Is Father Flynn’s kindness getting taken for a weakness? Or is he simply using his own kindness to prey on the weakness of the isolated Donald? Faith and doubt both duke it out as Father Flynn plays puppet master to both attributes through his interpersonal behavior with staff and students.

Hoffman’s often-celebrated sweet nature seeps into Flynn’s plea for innocence. But that ticking time bomb of intensity lies just beneath the surface as Sister Aloysius digs deeper under his skin, yanking out his subdued discomfort until he unleashes it in fiery self-defense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuJ2soRp1VI

One of the brilliant strokes of the screenplay for Doubt, as well as Philip Seymour Hoffman’s savory interpretation of the text, is that Father Brendan Flynn’s evolving state of mind is essentially expressed within three vastly different church sermons. Act I features Flynn’s introductory monologue about doubt. Act II is his rant that addresses the combative elephant in the room — gossip. And Father Flynn’s Act III speech to his congregation is his final farewell, the secret surrender that is disguised as a random departure.

Once those credits roll without any conclusive admission of guilt from Father Brendan Flynn, it becomes less about if he did or didn’t have a totally inappropriate relationship with Donald. The story seems to make us reexamine all the reasons we doubted him in the first place, just like Sister Aloysius. Father Flynn becomes a measuring stick for our own ethical codes that we carry over into the movie with. Is he hiding behind the unconditional goodness that his priesthood profession requires? Doubt proves to be quite an influential belief.

FATHER BRENDAN FLYNN: [to Sister James] There are people who go after your humanity, Sister, that tell you that the light in your heart is a weakness. Don’t believe it. It’s an old tactic of cruel people to kill kindness in the name of virtue.

For his delicate duality of openness and secrecy, his complex moral ambiguity and that unpredictable force that fear ignites him with — Father Brendan Flynn is one GREAT CHARACTER by one Unforgettably Great Actor.

In February, we remember Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Thank you, Jason, for this post. Please join us in Comments to discuss Hoffman’s performance in the movie Doubt.

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