Review: Spotlight

Directed by: Tom McCarthy

Written by: Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy

Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci

Rating: [5/5]

Everyone says they want the truth in the way it sets all free. This desire for truth remains fervent for many until it uncovers something undesirable and with the power to completely shatter the foundation of a pillar of society as well-documented in the impeccable Spotlight. A feature celebrating the diligence of journalism showing its integral nature of it as well as delivering a perfectly dramatized story about getting to the truth in a non-exploitative manner. 

New managing editor of the Boston Globe, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) presents the Spotlight team, which includes investigative writers as the newspaper, the opportunity to follow a lead into the potential of uncovering the sexual abuses inflicted by priests onto young children and the systematic cover-up by Catholic Church officials. As they begin to uncover more of this story they see how this has occurred with more than a handful of priests in the city of Boston. 

When done right, stories centered on the process and work of journalism know just how to hit the spot. A way of digging into all of the efforts that go into crafting a story and ensuring all of the details have the proper corroboration. It demonstrates what makes these newspapers integral to democracy and how it shines a light in the dark place the powerful want to keep hidden away. Through this feature, these journalists take on the institution of the Catholic Church and all of the troubles that comes with it. 

The issue with taking on the Catholic Church comes with the indoctrination they have managed to successfully complete amongst millions around the world. A level of control where they have successfully found a way to dictate the lives of their parishioner and followers to the point where they explicitly state the ways a married couple should engage in private sexual intimacy. When millions have allowed an institution of supposed celibate men to control their lives to this degree ensures a story revealing the truth of how these men heralded as leaders of the community actually abuse the most vulnerable quite the obstacle. This means they need to get this right not leaving room for even the tiniest slither of doubt that sows any distrust in their reporting. 

As much as their common cause through this story unites them, the journalistic aspects have them at odds as they try to properly craft this perfect and spotless article. It becomes a battle of whether or not to focus on the individual acts of these priests or do that in addition to taking on the entire system. It goes beyond showing it’s just a few bad apples, but something much larger at play that will only continue to ensure these abuses continue to happen and nothing substantive gets done. For a film quite measured on an emotional level, the disagreements in this arena cause the only outbursts making it quite impactful as these individuals pour in much of their lives into this. Tension remains throughout the entire feature in the nervousness of these journalists as they continue to gather information. They know they have something big and understand they need to get it right. With each new story they hear, you can see how it weighs on them to learn how some of these individuals endured horrific sexual abuse by individuals adored by community members putting them in a place where revealing the truth would not be possible. Not only would nobody believe them but nothing would change by them coming forward. 

While taking place in a big city, because of the overall tight-knit nature of Catholics, this piece they put together hits close to home for each of them. Boston, of all big cities, certainly has the reputation of being the most Catholic with the large Irish and Latine populations mostly leaning towards this particular faith. Therefore you have characters like Sacha (Rachel McAdams) who has trouble attending mass with her grandmother as she continues to learn more about the heinous behavior of this institution as a whole. She knows the ripple effect this story will have on the relationship of someone who she cares deeply for with the real fear that after knowing about it, her grandmother’s belief in the theology will not alter the way she feels about the Catholic Church as a whole. That’s what these individuals must contend with and it’s truly depressing to think about. This remains true today as we continue to get more stories uncovering even more cases of this occurring and people prefer to point their fingers towards fictitious populations posing as a threat to children as they attend mass on Sunday and continue to support the real threats. 

Coming together to comprise this ensemble cast we have a set of tremendous actors all coming together to provide measured performances. It includes Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Briand D’Arcy, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, and Billy Crudup. A true bountiful group of actors both in talent and the way they convey the journey of characters. Individuals demonstrate empathy for these stories but also harvest the anger of this situation to take it out on this institution through their pen. None other than Mark Ruffalo gets the big emotional moment, but they each do so much with their understated performance. McAdams, specifically, does so much simply through her face as she shares in the pain of with these individuals. They let the content of the story take center stage in a way better serves the audience. A true ensemble with absolutely no weak links among the group. 

Definitely not a showy movie in regard to the visuals, director Tom McCarthy lets his screenplay with Josh Singer lead the way with this feature and it certainly works to the benefit of the film. The direction operates similarly to the overall structure of the film in being methodical and to the point because these characters seek to reach the truth through honorable journalistic means. He maintains a measured approach to this story and opts not to add unnecessary drama to the picture involving the families of these journalists to a heavy degree like a nagging wife as seen in other films when the husband work these late nights. It remains about the work they are getting done here and this focus makes the feature fly by with its excellent pacing not allowing one moment to feel misplaced or unnecessary. Not a single sliver of fat exists here. 

Delivering one of the most enraging and saddening stories through its content but incredibly inspiring in its execution, Spotlight highlights the very best journalism films can accomplish. They display the importance of these figures in the community and exhibit just how much work goes into something some would just read the headline and move on from. This well-crafted feature gets everything right in teasing out the drama of the circumstance and not losing sight of the bigger picture involved with this reporting. Captivating from beginning to end, this serves as a wonderful collaboration about a real collaboration of journalists brought together for the common cause of showing the truth of an institution unafraid to wield its power and cause harm to the very congregation they use as a shield against their detractors.