Rating: A
When reviewing a film with an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture there is a certain level of pressure to give it a positive review. After all, you can’t really give an Oscar winning filming a bad review, right? And yet the highest praise that can be given to the captivating, often moving and quietly devastating Spotlight is that the film gets it right.
The film traces the story of the Spotlight team, the Boston Globes’ special investigation wing, in their attempts to uncover the sexual abuse scandal involving Catholic priests in the Boston Archdiocese. The team really should be considered heroes - throughout the early 2000s, the paper published nearly 600 articles exposing the extent of sexual abuse in Boston alone, and encouraged survivors of abuse at the hands of the Catholic Church to come forward from all over the world, breaking the decades-long silence.
Spotlight tells the story magnificently. While it would be easy to lean toward sensationalizing the scandal, director Tom McCarthy maintains an objective distance, highlighting the skill, persistence and dedication of Spotlight journalists Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James), and editor Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keating). The cast work together with distinction – while there is no lead personality, the rich diversity of the ensemble cast keep the focus of the film flowing.
The film ultimately deals with the challenges of exposing a story no one wants to hear. While interviews with survivors of sexual abuse provide truly heart-wrenching moments during the film, the attention paid to the collective failings of both the Catholic Church and the wider community is chillingly disturbing. Yet the film doesn’t rely upon such natural emotional responses for its success, but rather portrays a team of journalists working together at their best. That’s what the film is all about – the power of journalism. In the words of Mark Ruffalo; “this is where we fight tyranny.” Watch this film now.