Doubting Thomas (I) (2018) User Reviews

Why are you villainizing Tom?

[MovieDadJH · 6/10 · 6 June 2021]

The plot was interesting enough I thought. Sure the acting was somewhat stiff, but the most APPALING element of this movie is how Tom (who is white) was villainized by the other characters to the point he felt the need to apologize profusely and beg for everyone's forgiveness for becoming suspicious and upset after his pregnant white wife gave birth to a black baby.

Keep in mind, their close family friend/colleague, Ron, is black, and he frequently makes himself at home at Tom's house even when Tom is not there. Also keep in mind Jen (Tom's wife) regularly spends time alone with Ron and sometimes talks to Ron about things she "can't talk to Tom about ".

These factors alone are more than enough to make any normal person suspicious, but then when the apparent 'explanation' for the black baby is finally revealed in the movie, Tom is suddenly villainized by both his wife and his friend Ron, and he's treated like a pathetic insecure lowlife who should be ashamed of himself for suspecting infidelity between the two of them.

This is LUDICROUS.

I am a black man, but I feel no sympathy AT ALL for Jen and Ron. If I had been Tom, I would have been EVEN MORE LIVID than he was. He had EVERY RIGHT to be furious and suspicious of Jen and Ron. The baby was born BLACK!?!

How could no one understand why Tom was upset? How could Jen act so 'hurt' by Tom's suspicions?

How could Ron act so 'offended' by Tom's questions? Any reasonable person would have felt the same way Tom did in that situation. I surely would have.

And by the way, we see in on scene, Jen and Ron appear to actually kiss on the lips one day while having lunch together without Tom. So there's that.

Found it Manipulative

[larrys3 · 4/10 · 4 January 2020]

When a seemingly Caucasian couple Tom and Jen, Will McFadden and Sarah Butler respectively, become parents to a newborn black baby it will throw uncertainty and turmoil into their marriage and lives. To add to all the uncertainty, Tom's fellow lawyer and best friend Ron (Jamie Hector) is black, so Tom suspects Jen and Ron may have had an affair.

Unfortunately, I felt, as a viewer, manipulated and somewhat lectured to by this film, even as the movie progressed and more was revealed. If the intention of McFadden, who was also the director and writer here, was to make the viewer feel uncomfortable it did accomplish that to a large degree.

Overall, this film did get me to think about some of the issues it raised, but the story was told, as mentioned, in such a manipulative and simplistic way that it lost its likely intended effect on me.

Unrealistic

[mcrenshaw6311 · 5/10 · 12 January 2023]

The plot was intriguing and once I saw the trailer, I was like wait a minute I have to see this. White couple, the husband friend is a dark skin black guy, and the baby comes out dark skin! So you're like WTF. The friend and wife sees the baby first (watch the movie) and sort of tries to warn the husband. The husband has a normal reaction, "that's not our baby", the wife says "it came out of me" and she goes on like everything is normal. Now in the black culture or friend would have said bro that's not normal, get a test today. Not this friend, who's lines were written by an uninformed person. Then the wife gets mad at the husband for doubting its his child. In short, the wife finds out she's bi-racial. But the issue is no bi-racial person is going to have a baby with a white person the baby comes out dark-skin. No NO NO .

Overall boring, nothing exciting.

[trdzcszkg · 1/10 · 22 July 2021]

Waited the entire movie for it to get good and then it just ended. Out of no where. To me it seemed to want to follow today's trend of discussing race but fell short. Wouldn't recommend.

Unrealistic

[jwdaffeduck1 · 3/10 · 3 October 2021]

This movie starts off slow and doesn't get much better. The concept would have been more believeable had the main character had some characteristics of an African American or it turned out that her mother was half black (similiar to the actress from Diagnosis Murder). What a dumb ending!!! Really!?! I feel like part of my life was wasted watching this movie.

Confusing

[brandondemarcus · 1/10 · 25 June 2023]

Why didn't he open the letter at the end? Why did Ron act that way in the Kitchen. So many unanswered questions. I had to actually pause the movie at the end because I could not believe it was over. The wife invalidated every feeling the husband had all thought he had EVERY reason to feel the way he did. The baby looked nothing like either one of them and somehow we are supposed to believe it was his baby just because the grandmother never told her daughter who her actual father was? That still never justified the false integrity in their marriage. This film left me lost for words and I would NEVER recommend!

The skin colors and the DNA dilemma

[MovieIQTest · 22 March 2019]

This movie inevitably reminded me somethings:

The senator who claimed she got Indian's DNA from her ancestors, even it's only about 000000.01% or less, but she's proud of it. She needs the votes from all the races in America, but the POTUS simply laughed at her weak trying.

The Unforgiven (1960), a movie when the daughter was finally exposed and confirmed that she's not a pure white race but an Indian orphan. The finding made her adopted white family members totally disintegrated.

There was a poll for the black young people in America long time ago. Two choices for you to decide: One million dollars vs Suppose if you could change your color to pure white. Lot of the black young men chose the latter instead of the 1 million dollars offer; they'd rather have their skin color changed. BUT time and the way of thinking had changed so far: Black is the New White. Black is beautiful and sexier. Black is whiter than the real white.

But when the white couple in this movie mysteriously had a baby born with black skin and looked 100% black, things just turned ugly, the husband suddenly became so suspicious and doubted his wife, even himself. Then the wife's parents reluctantly admitted a family secret, so shockingly unacceptable, just like the 1960 Western played by Audrey Hepburn, Burt Lancaster and Audie Murphy. Audrey Hepburn almost wanted to kill herself, Burt Lancaster sneakily glad, but Audie Murphy, the younger brother to Lancaster simply exploded and wanted his always-thought-she-was-his-white sister to get out of their home and went back to join her Kiowa tribe.

This 2019 Doubting Thomas movie undoubtedly is with a quite sensitive but at the same, quite embarrassed and awkward situation. Yet if you're trendy enough like lot of married inter-racial couples nowadays, having a black baby is just a God-given blessing, not a problem at all.

As to this particular movie, just watchable but not great at all.

Everybody in my opinion, is somewhat a hidden racist, but nobody wants to admit it, because it's not politically correct and morally right. Just buy the red "MAGA" baseball hat, then you'd be a Great Republican American; the color of your skin is absolutely not an issue.

P.S. I'm just joking. So don't take me too seriously. : )

A bit low budget but raises some questions

[inexplicable007 · 6/10 · 29 October 2023]

How would you feel if your child was born looking a completely different race? How would you feel suddenly finding out you have a black parent? How would those around you respond? Does that change how they feel about you and how you feel about yourself!;

The budget was obviously lacking and some of the acting in some scenes was a bit too much but I was able to stay interested and see how things play out. The main character, a white man is shocked when his white wife gives birth to a black baby. He starts suspecting infidelity, not trusting his black best friend and stressed with the judgement and questions from strangers and those around him thinking the baby was/is adopted. I appreciated the thought provoking.situations brought up in this shorr movie.

So Many Questions

[jkhrybyyk · 1/10 · 4 November 2023]

I created an account just to review this movie. This was one of the worst movies I've ever watched. First, what about the kiss at the food truck!?? So we're just going to disregard that huh. Why didn't they do a meeting with the bio family??? That would've been nice. They could've rolled that in with mentioning the sister. Let's be real, that child is a quarter white...so we're just going to ignore the complexion??? The burning of the results...so just no answer to anything huh?? I'm mad I wasted my time with this! When I watched a movie, I expect some form or satisfaction but this just left me with unnecessary stress.

Unrealistic

[mcczkdv · 1/10 · 22 May 2021]

This movie was absolutely horrible. The story was completely unrealistic. No one with an ounce of intelligence would have behaved this way. Will's character ( Thomas) was the only one who questioned what was happening?? Really?? The wife never once thought to ask her family questions about what was happening. I call BS on the whole thing. I was so very disappointed with the ending as well.

This movie was a complete waste of time.

Hidden Facts

[adekile · 8/10 · 27 September 2020]

This movies reveals the hidden facts about the genetics of race, relationship fears and handling tough conversations.

Tom's reaction to his friend, Ron is legit and he had a right to express that feeling. Jen's reaction is also legit. Ron's reaction is legit also. All this could have been made least complicated if the mother revealed to the daughter that she is a mixed-race child. Hiding that HUGE fact from her daughter was a huge mistake and very selfish. Jen was denied a choice whether she is willing and able to raise a black child or not (as she herself had put it). The mother should have come forward the moment she saw her black grandchild.

Lesson, get it fixed at the very first opportunity. Waiting never makes it go away.

Ridiculous and farfetch

[pmyj-60080 · 1/10 · 5 June 2021]

Great idea but completely missed the boat in setting up the story, missed an opportunity for a great story as mixed couples and children are more common. Should have done some genetics research before this, yes could be that white parents have black ancestors but there is no possible way for the baby to be this dark after generational mix.

Stiff

[mzefabulous · 2/10 · 4 September 2021]

A White couple have a Black baby and the husband is the only one questioning what's going on..Really?! We suppose to believe that a woman give birth to a baby that appearance is totally as an opposite race and she say, "Oh well, it doesn't matter to me?" It would have been a little believable if the mom wasn't pale White. And yet she kept saying she's Black. There's undercover racism but I guess it's not suppose to be noticeable. This movie could have been good but the writers failed big time. It should have been named, Failing Thomas. I have no words for the ending at all.

Just more politics

[anitatinnerello · 2/10 · 21 May 2021]

Please can I just sit down and watch a movie without being hit with politics? Without being preached to? Ugh.

Utter crap

[natepritchard78 · 2/10 · 1 March 2021]

Beside the blatant race baiting this film cemters around the acting is awful. Nobody is believable or even likeable.

Contrived and utterly dishonest!!!!

[deacon_blues-88632 · 3/10 · 3 April 2022]

This mess pretends to be about race and our attitudes toward it; but nothing could be further from the truth! The real problem that arises if a clearly African child is born to Anglo parents is not about race, but rather about what appears to be clear evidence of marital unfaithfulness. But this film throws out a red herring purely to distract us from the real issue. Neither parent has any racist attitudes; neither would have any problem with loving and raising an African child as long as the explanation behind it were clear and morally appropriate. The entire crisis is one of apparent marital betrayal, which is a totally valid concern; not a case of latent racist tendencies, which this dishonestly contrived film disgracefully seeks to mislead us into believing.

Jamie Hector should be ashamed to be associated with this type of garbage! I have lost much of my respect for him, gained during his role as Jerry Edgar in Bosch!

Well worth watching

[laurapatterson-52091 · 8/10 · 9 June 2021]

I'm not sure why viewers are giving this film such low marks. I found the premise very interesting, and the character development well thought out. The acting was great too. I started to watch it on a whim and glad I took the chance. If you are looking for good indie drama check it out.

Worth Laughing At.

[toinelegacy · 3/10 · 1 December 2022]

AS A BLACK PERSON, I gotta say.. Will Mcfadden dropped the ball in every which way possible. The premise is ACTUALLY pretty interesting except its impossible... I mean they put some spraypaint on sarah butler and called her "interracial" but she had a full blown kinky haired negro baby? And toms the bad guy for being unsure?? When it comes down to it this movie sucked. Why spend so much time making it seem like there was an affair if it was never really like that? And can someone please explain the kiss!! Did that actually happen it never got brought up? Yeah it was awful but still worth watching.

no

[ZillyPutty · 2/10 · 9 June 2021]

This is harsh, but McFadden's writing and acting are just terrible in this film. It's painful to watch.

Incompetent writer

[monumentanonymous · 1/10 · 15 August 2021]

According to the story, Ron & Tom, worked together for 10 years as lawyers, and even now, they spend a lot of time verifying facts, and do not jump to conclusions. The plot of the story could be believable, if Tom & Ron were car salesmen and never gave a second thought to if something was factual or not. So for Tom to carry on the way he did, doesn't make any sense at all. It crushes the plot altogether and cancels out the far fetched idea of grandma's "surprise" . It's a shame, because the film had great actors, smooth scenes and fabulous filmography and a was badly written.

What in the lack of forethought hayle?

[Solace11 · 1/10 · 26 January 2022]

I seriously hope I NEVER see this movie again. I'm hoping to learn that McFadden decided to be a stellar librarian and has left the film industry alone. We don't deserve this...

White woman has black baby... perfectly normal

[chefjhardy · 3/10 · 3 October 2023]

This would've been believable if Jen was really half black. There is no way whatsoever we as the viewers would believe that Jen really had a black baby. Especially with her husband having a black best friend whose also real close to Jen. Tom is wrong for feeling like something is wrong!! How??! Of course a white man is gonna say he doesn't want a black baby. It's not racist at all.

What white woman would be calm and cool if her baby came out black and she knows for a fact she didn't cheat?? Idk what the point of this movie is, but it seems that it want us to see Tom as the villain and he's the only one who had the right questions.

A so so movie

[danielbusbyii · 3/10 · 25 July 2022]

Way too much cussing. This was an okay movie all except for that and I usually like sarah butler movies but that was just a little too much cussing for that type of drama movie in my opinion.

Great writing

[rosannavasquez · 10/10 · 11 September 2023]

A topic some may feel uncomfortable about. It makes you confront prejudices and biases you may not have known you had. It's important in this era.

Good actors, better dialog between the couples and best friend dynamics.

Those that keep giving it ratings that are low may just need to wait 10 years to watch it again and appreciate it.

We live in an era where it's ok to out right have a mixed marriage, yet can't believe we are all related by 1 source? Honestly, the cursing was kinda necessary if you were raised to understand cursing is just an outlet. Words don't hurt until they do.

Recommended to watch alone. When you do you may appreciate the free BIPOC education.

Ridiculous!

[ladee-46866 · 3/10 · 3 August 2023]

There is no way the friend should have been hanging out in the home when the husband isn't home (he's there too often). They seem more like a couple than the actual couple.

A paternity test should have been the 1st thing they did. The husband initially saying that he "trusted" his wife and that he didn't want a paternity test is ridiculous because he clearly had issues with the situation. The wife should have insisted on it herself. None of them are mature. Her mother thinking her child's heritage is not important until after she has her own child is ridiculous!

The writing, plot and acting are subpar!