The trailer for Doubt hit the web sometime last month, and although I hadn’t heard much about it initially, there are now faint whispers of Oscar potential starting up (probably thanks to the recent delays of some of the year’s other top contenders). It certainly seems like the type of serious, issue-oriented movie that wins awards, although I don’t know if anyone’s actually seen the thing yet (it’s not scheduled to hit select theatres until December 12th).

Doubt takes place in 1964 and stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a priest who is accused of abusing a black student. Meryl Streep plays the nun who is making the accusations, while Amy Adams plays another nun who is on his side. John Patrick Shanley wrote and directed the movie based on his own Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name (his previous credits include Joe Versus the Volcano, Alive and Congo, believe it or not). It certainly feels like it was based on a play, however, the strength of the cast alone is enough to convince me that this is a movie that will have people talking within the next couple of months. Check out the trailer below or watch it in Quicktime over at Apple.com.