Film Review -- Spotlight

Directed by Tom McCarthy, the film stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Brian d'Arcy James, and Stanley Tucci. It centers around the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation, conducted by the "Spotlight" team of investigative reporters for the Boston Globe, of the massive cover-up of the rampant child molestation within the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Walter Robinson (Keaton) leads the team of reporters - Mike Rezendes (Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (McAdams) and Matt Carroll (James) - on a perilous mission to expose one of the most perverse scandals in the history of the Catholic Church. One great strength of this film is that it doesn't attempt, on account of its obviously revolting subject matter, to be melodramatic or to mold itself into a conventional 'good vs. evil' narrative. It treats its subject matter in a sensitive way, but it also doesn't try to sugarcoat it (of course, the Church's atrocities speak for themselves). The reporters aren't portrayed as heroes; rather, they're simply a group of people who found a story that needed to be told, and pursued it - sometimes reluctantly, but mostly resolutely - while experiencing a wide range of responses, including horror. The film's screenplay is perhaps the best of the year. The plot moves so seamlessly that I hardly noticed the time go by, and the dialogue seems so natural that it feels like you're listening to a conversation among real people. A necessary film is one that is so much more than entertainment, one that is an indispensable viewing to those who consider themselves decent human beings - this is one of those films. The sickening nature of organized religion is too often and inexplicably ignored by society at large, so one can't help but feel grateful to the original Spotlight team for their unflinching exposé as well as to the filmmakers who wished to bring this story to a wide audience for their small contributions in bringing this cancer to the forefront of mainstream culture. Spotlight is easily the best film of the year.

Should you see it: Absolutely
Grade: A+