image: Broadway
Nominated for six Oscars and three BAFTAs, Spotlight is a journalism drama that tells the riveting true story of how the Boston Globe’s ‘Spotlight’ team investigated, and eventually revealed, the church’s cover up of child abuse by Catholic priests.
The tenacious team unravelled the scandal over the course of a year, and once published, it resulted in The Globe receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2003. Though the story focuses on abuse cases in Boston, the article published was a catalyst for victims to come forward from around the world, creating an international scandal.
The powerful story that drives the film is as intriguing as it is shocking. Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent, Win Win, The Visitor) both directed and co-wrote the film, showing a talent that has gained him nominations for multiple awards in the upcoming awards season.
The entire film absorbs you with simple scenery, beautiful storytelling and a stunningly well-harmonised cast, consisting of Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Brian d’Arcy James and Liev Schreiber. As the characters work as a unit, no particular actor stands out from the rest, giving a perfect demonstration of the importance of chemistry within an ensemble cast. This was confirmed when the film recently won the top SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Like previous winners Argo and The King’s Speech, Spotlight demonstrates what a shame it is that the Academy Awards and BAFTA don’t recognise such a category.
The film has a strong beat throughout its 128 minute running time; we see Boston – a place where a pat on the shoulder or a quiet private conversation could easily make someone look the other way – face the brutal truth of what is being ignored. For this to happen, it took the non-Catholic, non-Boston new editor, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber), to insist on investigating the story, ignoring any Bostonian courtesies.
Michael Keaton plays Walter “Robby” Robinson, the determined editor and leader of the Spotlight team who refuses to publish the piece until each individual story is tight enough that it cannot be swept under the rug. His small team consists of two reporters Michael Rezendes (Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (McAdams) and researcher Matt Carroll (d’Arcy James). A group of victims are first discovered through the lawyer Mitchell Garabedian (a superb Stanley Tucci), from here, more and more victims are discovered, with the total number of stories published almost reaches 600.
The film captures the complexity of the story, along with the desperation of the victims, in a flawless and transfixing manner. The shattering truth that is revealed throughout the film connects the dots of abuse, and the real article has been said to be one of the only journalistic accomplishments that can rival the ambition, challenges and overall impact of the revelation of the Watergate Scandal in the seventies.
Though it is very different, the film holds a similar thriller aspect as Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 film Erin Brockovich. Each character makes their own discoveries about the horrors going on in the church, leading them and the audience to become emotionally invested in the story, as on-screen characters and viewers alike desperately wait for the article to be published so that the truth is revealed.
The films ending is satisfying, though not comforting. We are left with a long list of all the cities around the world were child abuse within the church was prominent. This pre-credits sequence pounds you with the reality of the film, leaving you with a devastating sense of discomfort that makes the story difficult to forget.
Overall, Spotlight is an incredibly powerful telling of a devastating story. It shows the clear importance of journalism as a source of knowledge for the public, and demonstrates pure craftsmanship in turning a true story into a powerful and moving bio picture.
Spotlight is on at Nottingham cinemas now, and will be shown at Broadway Cinema until Thursday 11 February.
Spotlight trailer
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