Surprisingly, Todd McCarthy's review in Variety of the film adaptation of "Doubt" blasts one standout aspect of the film — Meryl Streep's performance — as its "one iffy element."

He says Streep "takes the vocal low road here as opposed to the more forceful approach of Cherry Jones in her riveting Broadway turn. By ostensibly underplaying the role's villainy, however, Streep overdoes the melodrama, thereby turning Sister Aloysius into more of a stock figure than she ultimately seemed onstage."

Well, that's not what Cherry Jones thinks. I interviewed her two weeks ago immediately after she saw the film for the first time at an industry screening that we both attended in New York. The veteran stage actress who won a Tony Award for creating the role of Sister Aloysius on Broadway 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."

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."