While not being appropiate for young children,  it’s fitting and appropriate that after Veteran’s Day. That’s because I recently saw the veteran actress of our generation, Meryl Streep, pull off an amazing acting coup.

Meryl stars in playwright John Patrick Shanley’s film version of his award winning play “Doubt.” Last week, there was a very odd review of this movie in Variety by the usually trustworthy Todd McCarthy. No one knew what to make of it. He liked “Doubt” but didn’t care for Meryl.

That’s Meryl Streep. It didn’t seem possible that was he right.

Well, he wasn’t. I am happy to report that Mr. McCarthy was off his game with his “Doubt” review. As usual, but always in a different way, Streep is just phenomenal as Sister Aloysius, the acerbic nun who decides — with little evidence — that her parish priest is having an inappropriate relationship with a 12-year-old boy.

The great Cherry Jones played the Sister on Broadway and won a Tony Award. Shanley is gracious enough to thank her and the other actors from the original Broadway cast. But you know, for a movie to sell tickets the big guns must be brought in. And so, Meryl is joined by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and the absolutely wonderful Viola Davis.

Davis has been waiting six years since her back to back 2002 triumphs in “Antwone Fisher” and “Far from Heaven.” Maybe now her role as Mrs. Muller, mother of the boy in question, will win her an Oscar nomination and the acclaim she deserves. She’s only on screen for less than fifteen minutes, but all of it is in an extended scene with Streep that is a magic movie moment. After all, directors know you can’t send a lightweight into the frame with Meryl Streep. Davis keeps up with Meryl line for line. She’s brilliant.

That isn’t to say that Hoffman and Adams aren’t also excellent. Hoffman plays Father Flynn, the parish priest whom Sister Aloysius suspects. The word from Miramax is that they’re putting Hoffman up in the Supporting category. But his work here is that of a lead actor. The whole movie hinges on ‘doubt’ about whether he’s done something wrong. Hoffman is like the Jason Robards of our generation, absolutely flawless in his ability to act in grey areas. In a career that already includes an Oscar for “Capote,” Hoffman gives here one of his most absorbing performances.

The same goes for Amy Adams as Sister James, the acolyte nun whom Sister Aloysius takes into her confidence, but who mistrusts the sister’s accusations. Known for lighter weight work in “Junebug” and “Enchanted,” Adams finally gets to dig into a character of substance. She is at once naïve and knowing as Sister Aloysius leads her into a one woman prosecution of Father Flynn.

“Doubt” is something we haven’t seen in a while, a real movie based on a real play. Shanley won the 2005 Pulitzer for Drama for “Doubt,” and the Tony Award. The stage play was directed by theater great Doug Hughes, but Shanley—best known for writing “Moonstruck”— took over the film and opened it up. The result is almost a textbook case for how to do this, as the world of “Doubt”—shot in the Bronx on location—is fluid and three dimensional.

And of course, public relations maven Peggy Siegal put together an all-star audience last night for this tastemaker’s screening and dinner that followed at The Plaza Hotel’s new Oak Bar. Miramax’s Daniel Battsek hosted Charlie Rose, Steve Kroft and his wife, writer Jenny Conant, who represented the journalism branch from CBS, while Elizabeth Vargas came from ABC with husband Marc Cohn (“Walking in Memphis”). Actress Frances Fisher came from Los Angeles as Shanley’s companion, and I spotted “Friends” actor David Schwimmer, “Vicki Cristina Barcelona” star Rebecca Hall, famed cinematographer Ellen Kuras, actor Jeff Goldblum and director Paul Schrader, documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple, and director Fred Schepisi, who directed Streep 20 years ago to an Oscar nomination for “A Cry in the Dark.” (“A dingo took my baby!”)

“Doubt” is one of the nine films I wrote about last week that will actually be vying for Best Picture noms. (This one looks a cinch.) We can add it to a list that includes “Slumdog Millionaire,” and “Rachel Getting Married.” All eyes now turn to “The Reader,” “Revolutionary Road,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Australia,” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” all jockeying for position. Shanley is likely to score his own nominations for Best Director and Adapted Screenplay. Howard Shore’s lovely score is not to be missed either.

Streep is just a revelation in “Doubt.” The play is set in 1964, and the nuns wear black bonnets at all times. This means that Meryl’s face is narrowed by this headgear. Still, she manages to convey Sister Aloysius’s sense of justice and despair, her humor and revulsion. In Variety, McCarthy complained about Meryl’s accent and vocal volume. Who knows what he was thinking? Streep uses a particularly cultured Bronx accent with a lot of music in it and a struggle to get her r’s. It’s just right for Sister Aloysius, and shows her genius in locating a character’s inner being.

P.S.: “Doubt,” I don’t mind telling you, resonated for this viewer because of my experience covering Michael Jackson’s child molestation trial. Jackson and Father Flynn share many disturbing traits, including Jackson serving wine to 12 year olds. Coincidentally, Shanley’s play debuted in 2005, the same year Jackson stood trial and was acquitted.  Reported by FoxNews.

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