Holding onto Morality

In the films Doubt and Crimes and Misdemeanors, we see guilt take a role and question morality.  These two shots, though from different films, are very similar in how they are constructed and what they have to say.  Both are close ups of the hands, both holding a piece of writing and both seem to be expressing a moment of moral clarity, stemming from guilt.

  In the shot above, from the film Doubt we see Father Flynn's hands straightening out his bible, after carefully placing the two small flowers.  Due to the set up of the shot, our eye is drawn towards his finger and the red flower.  The way he is laying out the flowers and bible show him getting things in order.  As he accepts that he must leave the church, he straightens out the desk materials, maybe indicating covering his tracks from whatever the cause of his guilt, and is now ready to move on.

In the shot below, we see Judah Rosenthal reading a letter from Dolores, intended for his wife.  This moment is when his two worlds, one with Dolores and the other with his wife, begin to collide.  The way the shot is constructed, our eye is drawn the the wedding ring on his left hand.  Woody Allen made the deliberate choice to cut to Judah's hands while he read the letter to emphasize this symbol.  This scene is when Judah realizes that his marriage is in jeopardy, and what better way to show this than a wedding ring which is a symbol of commitment, honesty and truth.

These two images represent a moment of moral certainty.  Both characters have a sense of right and wrong in this scene.  Judah, as he reads the letter, becomes stressed and guilty.  He burns the letter, obviously knowing what he did was wrong and would not be accepted by his wife.  He is certain of this moral and knows that he went against it.

Similarly, this is a moment of moral certainty for Father Flynn.  He realizes and begins to accept at this moment that his career at this church is over.  He feels guilty, about what we are uncertain, but feels guilty nonetheless.  He becomes certain that this is the end of the road at this church and that he will be forced to move on.