MovieChat Forums > Doubt (2008) Discussion > Question about the wine-drinking inciden...

Question about the wine-drinking incident

posted 11 years ago by pjammiez
3 replies | jump to latest

Father Flynn said he was told Donald drank altar wine so he had Sister James send Donald to him. Sister James said when Donald came back, his breath smelled like alcohol.

So...if Father Flynn heard he drank wine previously, why would Donald smell like alcohol when he returned to his class?

When Father Flynn spoke to Donald about drinking wine, when did this supposedly happen? How much time had lapsed? How long can alcohol (wine, at that) leave an alcohol smell?

I've not ever conducted this test so I don't know, though I will volunteer for the good of the cause. :D

It's just, these two stories seem to contradict each other. If Donald drank the wine earlier in the day, would he come back from the meeting and lay his head down and still have it on his breath, if it was indeed from an earlier time period and not the meeting?

Am I reading too much into this episode? Is it just a plot hole?

[–] dynawide 11 years ago

I watched the relevant scenes again as it's a good question.
When he gets summoned to the rectory there's no sign that Donald is affected by alcohol in any way. Next scene is the dance class where Flynn puts Donald's T-Shirt in his locker then the following scene is Donald back at class being spoken to by Sister James.
hmmmmm
This movie has me changing my mind more often than i care to admit.

[–] jamesmatheson 11 years ago

No, it's not a plot hole. I've noticed that from first viewing and it didn't really bother me. Maybe Donald was already drunk when he went to class (If I remember correctly, he was playing with the magnet dancing figurine). His seatmate, Jimmy, was acting like he was weird out by Donald's behavior. Perhaps, he has also smelled the alcohol on Donald. Or maybe he knew about the incident. Then Father Flynn called him to the rectory, went back to class and Sister James smelled the alcohol on his breath. At that point, it was emphasized that Jimmy was staring at Sister James and Donald, seemingly saying that "You're in trouble!"

[–] juankisinho-o 9 years ago

Maybe the priest saw him drink the wine just before class but didn't say anything because he didn't want to embarrass him in front of everybody. So he waited everyone to go to class to then call him to his office.