'Sister to Sister': Cherry Jones Gives Streep's DOUBT Film Performance High Praise

Gold Derby Columnist Tom O'Neil spoke to Cherry Jones, the Tony Winning star of the stage version of DOUBT, the theater maverick had high praise for the big screen adaptation's ‘Sister Aloysius', Meryl Streep. Jones told O'Neil that she found Streep's take on the role, "Fascinating".

O'Neil interviewed her two weeks ago immediately after she saw the film for the first time at an industry screening that they both attended in New York. The veteran stage actress was impressed by how Meryl Streep underplayed the nun's villainy, giving the character more emotional vulnerability.

To illustrate the difference in their two performances, Jones cited a scene in which Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) fiercely confronts the nun who accuses him of molesting a school boy. Glowering at her, he asks, "Have you ever sinned?"

"On stage, I stood my ground," Jones said. "I held my resolve and I fought Father Flynn right back. I didn't let him break her. This is the play's big confrontation scene and we played it for maximum dramatic conflict.

"But I was fascinated to see that's not what Meryl Streep does," she added. "She lets Sister Aloysius crack. She decides to break with the moment. Suddenly, she caves, she's vulnerable. You think these two might actually come together, that all will be understood and forgiven, but, no. They go right back to fighting. On stage we decided to drive the scene right through." 

Jones doesn't think one approach is better than the other, just different and in a "fascinating" way. Both performances have one key thing in common, though, she added: "There is no question that this nun is intense and doing her duty to protect people she loves." To read the entire interview please click here.

Watching such differences for the first time on screen was odd for her, though. "After doing the play 708 times, it felt like a dream watching the film," Jones said. "I knew every line and emotion."

Jones won a Tony for originating the role of Sister Aloysius in 2005 in DOUBT. The role also earned her a Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, and an Obie for her performances.

Jones' Broadway credits include The Lincoln Center Theater production of The Heiress, Imaginary Friends, Major Barbara, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Our Country's Good, Angels in America and, most recently, Faith Healer. She has also been seen in the regional and Off-Broadway productions of Flesh & Blood, Pride's Crossing, The Baltimore Waltz, Night of the Iguana, The Good Person of Setzuan, and 25 productions as a company member of the American Repertory Theatre, including Twelfth Night, The Three Sisters, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and Lysistrata. Her film credits include Oceans 12, The Village, Signs, Swimmers, Cradle Will Rock, Erin Brockovich, The Horse Whisperer, The Perfect Storm, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and the Lifetime Television movie "What Makes a Family."

Jones will be appearing in the season premiere of the FOX drama "24" titled "Redemption" on January 11th and 12th as President Allison Taylor.    

Photo of Cherry Jones in the play 'Doubt' by Joan Marcus

Photo of Meryl Streep in the film version of 'Doubt' Courtesy of Miramax Films

 

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