In a decade of sudden and often turbulent change, a deep rift is brewing at St. Nicholas, a Catholic school located in the Bronx.

Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the progressive and well-liked priest, is making an attempt to soften the strict system currently governing the pupils. Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep), the uncompromising principal of the school, opposes him at every turn, desperate to keep the policies she institutes in place.

It is not often that a film contains the amount of outstanding performances found in Doubt.

Much-deserved praise has been given to each of the film’s leads, but the two standout performances are those of Streep and Viola Davis. Streep’s Sister Aloysius is iron-gloved and intimidating, but is also tinted with subtle compassion and a sincere will to do the right thing.

With the arrival of Donald Miller, the school’s first black student, the times have indeed caught up with St. Nicholas. But then, a young nun, Sister James (Amy Adams), comes to Sister Aloysius. Sister James thinks she has witnessed something that shouldn’t have — couldn’t have — happened: something between Father Flynn and Donald Miller.

Sister Aloysius has neither proof nor doubt about what has happened. Acting only on her intuition, she sets out to vindicate her suspicions and confirm Father Flynn’s guilt. But her relentless pursuit of the truth will do more to change St. Nicholas, and herself, than she could ever imagine.

Davis, who plays the mother of Donald Miller, is phenomenal in her brief role in the film. Serving as the crux of the film’s moral questioning, she accomplishes what few actresses can, and in the space of mere minutes, delivers a performance that not only charges the themes of the film, but also lingers long after the film is over.

Miramax has done an excellent job transferring the film to DVD. The film is presented in widescreen format, and, for the most part, the colors were faithfully translated from the film reel to the digital format. There are, however, some scenes that come out a little too dark, and in a certain shot in Sister Aloysius’s office, the white balance seems a little off, although this is likely a directorial decision.

The sound is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, a smart choice for the front-centric audio of dialogue-driven films. There are one or two instances when the dialogue is too bass-heavy, making it difficult to hear the lines spoken, but they are the exceptions and not the rule. Overall, the visual and audio presentations of the DVD are commendable.

Bonus material includes four featurerettes and a commentary track from writer/director John Patrick Shanley, who adapted the screenplay from his Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play.

Doubt is one of the finest films of 2008. It is an unusually ambiguous drama — hence the name — but is therefore rewarding, making it one of the pivotal film experiences from last year.

Reach reporter Robert Frankel at arts@dailyuw.com.