Spotlight (2015) (English Language)

Review

129min

Genre:      Fact-based, Drama

Director:   Tom McCarthy

Cast:        Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams…and more

Writers:    Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy

-Synopsis-

An all-star cast features in writer/director Tom McCarthy’s journalistic drama chronicling the true story of the Boston Globe’s uncovering of a local priest child abuse scandal which rocked the Catholic church to its core.

If you’re a fan of factual investigative journalism dramas in the vein of ‘All the President’s Men’ and ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’, ‘Spotlight’ is a must see for you. If however you require flashy Hollywood dramatization for your kicks, you’ll probably fail to be as engrossed by this film as you should be.

I shouldn’t be a surprise that a film about systemic child abuse in a religious organisation that claims to have over 1 Billion members might be controversial, but ‘Spotlight’ is one of the most disturbingly fascinating movies of the last 12 months, and easily the most socially and morally significant.

Tom McCarthy’s multiple Oscar-nominated drama is engaging on multiple fronts; as a drama about 21st century child exploitation and the abuse of power in all levels of society, as a considered view of the devastating lifelong effects of sexual abuse on the victims, as a look at the power that religion holds over communities, and as one of the more terrible faces of globalization. After all this is a small local story that became a global scandal which rocked the corridors of the Vatican.

Michael Keaton delivers another solid lead performance as the editor of the Boston Globe’s deep investigative section “Spotlight”, alongside strong Oscar-nominated supporting actor performances from Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams.

Together with the rest of a strong ensemble cast they bring to life the alarming 2002 exposé of the decades-old emotional and spiritual grooming of disadvantaged and vulnerable local children, which resulted in multiple sexual abuses which were systematically covered up by the Catholic church, both locally and globally, while using aggressive legal tactics to silence victims and the press.

Like all good journalistic dramas, ‘Spotlight’ strikes an effective balance between a flowing narrative with a forensic quality, and a personal human drama in the way it depicts the victims and perpetrators as well as the journalists involved.

Rather commendably, Tom McCarthy’s ode to the dying art of investigative journalism doesn’t treat the journalists as heroes, but keeps the focus on the victims, the story and what it all says about our society.

For us ‘Spotlight’ raises one major disturbing consideration, if the Catholic church could cover up these crimes in the most developed nation on Earth, with a constitutional separation of church and state, due process and relatively low corruption, imagine what these religious bureaucracies have gotten away with in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. Truly horrifying food for thought.

The Bottom Line…

Journalistic moviemaking at its finest, ‘Spotlight’ is an expertly crafted drama with a compelling and troubling narrative which both informs and raises questions about the very fabric of our society, while confronting us with the hard truths that we must face, no matter how uncomfortable.

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

All the President’s Men (1976)

Oscar-winning dramatization of the Washington Post investigation by reporters Woodward & Bernstein that uncovered the scandalous details of the “Watergate” scandal, which eventually lead to the resignation in disgrace of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford and Jack Warden among others.

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