SPOTLIGHT
Director: Tom McCarthy
Cast: Mark Ruffulo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Brian d’Archy James, Stanley Tucci, Elena Wohl, Gene Amoroso, Doug Murray, Sharon McFarlane, Jamey Sheridan, Neal Huff, Billy Crudup
Rating: A
There are so many breaking stories about corruption and conspiracy within governments or large corporations that people have become indifferent and often don’t even notice the seedy side of politics or the corporate world. A story that could not go unnoticed was one of the biggest cover ups in recent history that came from Catholic Church, which kept the dark secret that hiding in plain sight were pedophiles disguised as priests. Spotlight, a film directed by Tom McCarthy, is the true story of a team of determined journalists with the Boston Globe on a mission to expose the dark ugly secrets being brushed under the rug by the Roman Catholic institution. It will take 8 months for the team of reporters known as Spotlight to uncover over 600 cases of sexual abuse of children, that grows into a worldwide epidemic by the time the film is over.
The gritty editorial team of Spotlight is made up of supervising editor Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton), Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffulo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), and Matt Carroll (Brian d’Archy James). Each of these topnotch writers come from Catholic backgrounds and have their own private struggles with the work they are doing as they discover that the beloved church they believe in has many ugly truths waiting to be uncovered.
Giving full support to the Spotlight crew is the Boston Globe’s new chief editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber). A transplant from Florida, Marty is the first Jew to be the head honcho at the Globe and he lights the fire under his journalistic team and sets them loose on intricate detective work that will uncover the skeletons hiding in one of the most powerful organizations in the world.
We all know the outcome of this story and still director Tom McCarthy manages to give us a suspenseful thriller that keeps audiences fully engaged. The complex web of lies includes politicians, church officials, lawyers, and cops all working towards the common goal of covering up one of the biggest sex crimes in history. Beautifully depicted is the conflict between the Globe, an Irish Catholic newspaper, and the Boston Archdiocese. We see a group of reporters working relentlessly into the night to not only expose the truth but also be the first ones to get the explosive story out to the public. The church gets into bed with the legal system to provide under the table settlements, sealed records, and the psychological blackmail used to shame the victims into silence.
The well written script of Spotlight moves deliberately and slowly as it unfolds its purpose of which side wins in the end – the reporters trying to bring out the truth or the forces of power trying to disable the informants from spilling the beans about what was really going on for decades. Portrayals of devastation victims of the abuse endured not only as children but even as adults make this a heartbreaking film. Spotlight focuses on the effects of abuse without becoming sensationalized, gruesome, or tasteless.
Perfectly cast, Spotlight is loaded with amazing actors that play guardians of the truth to the hilt. Mark Ruffalo gives a strong punch as the passionate Rezendes out for blood, Rachel McAdams is the strong female reporter able to gain the trust of the victims without letting their stories cloud her judgement, Brian d’Arcy James is cool and collected as the meticulous Carroll who researches every detail and Michael Keaton is spot on as the tough editor motivating his team. Let’s not forget great performances by Liev Schreiber as the driving force behind the investigation and the amazing Stanley Tucci playing an obnoxious arrogant attorney for the victims that actually has heart of gold which will aid in getting the truth told. Supporting cast members also hold their own and many small powerful moments. There is nothing negative to say about the performances from each amazing cast member.
Even though the Spotlight team wanted the feather in their caps for being the first to uncover the conspiracy, the movie makes it clear that they also felt a moral obligation to bring out the truth because they truly cared about how immoral the cover up was and the damage it was causing innocent children. Filled with tension and suspense, Spotlight is a gripping story that never gets ahead of itself and takes very clear objective looks into how a group of newspaper reporters shocked the world with something no one wanted to believe.
This is not a film with special effects bells and whistles or high flying action. What this quiet intense production becomes is an amazing and emotional story giving us a look into what it took to reveal that an institution believing in its own power and prestige is still accountable for wrongdoing and that a system of checks and balances needs to be in place to prevent such a horrific thing as child sex cases from ever happening. Spotlight will go down as a landmark for being a powerful film about a shameful issue that rocked not only the Catholic Church but the entire world.
