Set in the mid-1960’s in St. Nicholas’s Church and it’s attached school in the Bronx, we are introduced to progressive-thinking Father Flynn played by Hoffman, the naïve young nun, Sister James played by Adams, and the terrifying “Dragon” Sister Aloysius portrayed by Meryl Streep. Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius represent two opposing sides to how the church and school should be run. During this period of time, the Vatican had vowed to bring the church into the 20th century, and Father Flynn enters the school with a refreshing look on how the school can change. Sister Aloysius prefers to protect the students from the changing world and its dangers, disallowing ball-point pens and secular songs such as ‘Frosty the Snowman’ at the annual carol service on the grounds that it promotes paganism. As you can expect, these two giant forces are bound to collide, and when Sister Aloysius begins to suspect Father Flynn of behaving inappropriately towards a young male student (who happens to be the first black student in the school), Sister Aloysius vows to do whatever necessary to get Father Flynn out. Throughout the film, you often wonder whether Sister Aloysius just simply doesn’t like Father Flynn and has resorted to scare mongering to discredit him, but cleverly Shanley places small resounding moments that may make you doubt Father Flynn’s good nature. As a viewer, you are left to view everyone with suspicion. Even the scene with the young boy’s mother expertly played by Viola Davis offers no piece of mind. Davis’s performance as a woman obviously trying to make the best of a bad situation left such an impact that she has been awarded a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Oscars for her single 10-minute scene. Seeing Streep and Hoffman, arguably two of the greatest living actors, lock horns in one of their many confrontation scenes makes an exhilarating watch, and it is clear that the film boasts one of the best ensemble casts for a long time. Meryl Streep, who has already won the SAG Award and the Critic’s Choice Award for her performance shines as the uptight nun and principal who can make you both shudder in fear and laugh at her eccentricities. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the embodiment of a kind, loving priest who wishes to be a source of comfort and help rather than an object of fear to his congregation, proves he can truly transform himself for any part that comes his way. Father Flynn’s sermons throughout the film are thought provoking and are obviously staged to address those who suspect him, without ever being disingenuous or simply for effect. Amy Adams is heart-warming and endearing as the young nun and teacher who is caught in the scandal, and her scene where she declares to like ‘Frosty the Snowman’ is delivered with such clarity that you can’t help but want to embrace her.
A motif scattered across the film is the blowing winds that terrorize the church and school. A storm rages on, representing the ‘winds of change’, both for the Catholic Church and for St. Nicholas’s. A connection could also be drawn, outlining how this unwanted weather may mirror how some did not welcome Father Flynn’s arrival. Furthermore, it could also symbolise the first black student in St. Nicholas’s that brought intrusion to the closed-off community and showed how America was changing, no matter how much Sister Aloysius resisted.
