Doubt
Metascore
68 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 36
  3. Negative: 1 out of 36
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  1. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Albert Williams
    100
    Streep and Hoffman are pitch-perfect, and Amy Adams is also superb as a young nun caught up in the conflict.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Doubt has exact and merciless writing, powerful performances and timeless relevance. It causes us to start thinking with the first shot, and we never stop. Think how rare that is in a film.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    88
    While Streep has a tiny bit too much fun with some of her character's excesses, she's awfully good. So is Hoffman, who walks a fine line between obvious guilt and possible innocence.
  4. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    83
    Along with its disappointments and its narrowness of intellectual focus, Doubt offers up the crackling pleasures of performance and a narrative that snaps shut like a mousetrap. It's the movie equivalent of a rousing night at the theater.
  5. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Matthew Sorrento
    90
    Exhausting yet invigorating, it's a drama one witnesses more than just views.
  6. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    90
    Doubt is still overpowering; it took me a while when it was over to stop shaking. It's the dramatist’s business to sow doubt, to set down points of view that can't be reconciled, and Shanley makes visceral the notion that one can be right but never absolutely right, that doubt might be our last, best hope.
  7. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    83
    It's a splendid ensemble, equal in almost every way to the fine, probing script.
  8. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    100
    An intellectually and emotionally exhausting and engrossing experience. It is drama of the highest caliber.
  9. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    88
    You may have doubts about which side to choose, but there's no doubt about this mind-bender. It'll pin you to your seat.
  10. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    83
    The film's added enigma makes the play's title even more appropriate, but it results in a more ambiguous and perhaps less satisfying dramatic experience.
  11. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    83
    Doubt is a complex, thematically loaded piece of work, and though it isn't enhanced on film, it deserves the wider exposure.
  12. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Perry Seibert
    100
    Satisfies the heart and engages the mind.
  13. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    88
    By eloquently probing the state of uncertainty and its accompanying discomfort and confusion, Doubt compels viewers to examine their own assumptions as they become caught up in this fascinating tale.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 105 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 45
  3. Negative: 3 out of 45
  1. DanS.
    10
    Amazing movie. Enough said. Wait not enough said actually, one of the most thought provoking movies of all time. This is a movie classic that it is a mystery, drama and suspense rolled into one amazing movie.… Full Review »
  2. Trev29
    8
    Now this was a tense movie. Meryl was excellent. She was so funny and ruthless at the same time. Amy and Viola were at the top of their game adding such freshness to the film. And Seymour was was Seymour. He is always good. A wonderful detective type film.… Full Review »
  3. worleyjamers
    9
    Based on a play, Doubt unveils its story much like a play; nothing plot wise is expressed in an obvious way and allows the audience to join in interpreting what is happening. This in combination with 3 stunning lead performances make Doubt one of the best films of 2008. Worth a watch.… Full Review »
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