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SPOTLIGHT
[2015, USA - English]

The newspaper industry is no longer as thriving ever since most of us started embracing interaction over the web, but inspiring journalism has provided the premise to quite a few memorable films, particularly those that involve a long hard struggle to uphold the power of truth. This includes Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), The Insider (1999), All The President's Men (1976) and my personal favorites The Bang Bang Club (2010) and The Nightcrawler (2014). When you make a film on the uncovering of true horrifying cases of child molestation, nothing could be more rewarding than to have it culminating strength and positive effect on your viewers. And that is what director Tom McCarthy has achieved with his 2015 American biographical drama Spotlight. Not only has it garnered Best Picture at Critics' Choice Awards, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the SAG Awards, and six Oscars nominations (including Best Picture), it has most importantly (according to Boston Globe's editor-at-large Walter Robinson) made a huge impact on the public, where more victims are coming forward because of this film. Whilst it brings forward much inspiration, igniting power within the victims, when scandal involves almost a staggering 250 priests from the Catholic Church in Boston who had molested children over several decades, we can't ignore as well the contempt flaring up in all of us and the derision which the churches has to painfully swallow. When asked about his reaction towards the film being made, Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, who took over after disgraced Cardinal Bernard F. Law stepped down pursuant to the scandal expose, says that it was "a very painful time" in the history of the church, and the series of reports forced the church "to deal with what was shameful and hidden". Insisting that the archbishop would not discourage people from watching the film, O'Malley has given his commitment in eradicating abusive priests from the church.

So Spotlight is based on this enthralling true story. It kicks off with editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) who newly joins the Boston Globe, attempting to further pursue previous column which reported on lawsuits pertaining a priest allegedly involving in sexual abuse. On learning that the judge has sealed court records to prevent the records of the priest from going public, Baron becomes determined to dig deeper to unveil the truth. Looking to expose a systematic cover-up by the Catholic hierarchy who not only knew what had happened but did everything they could to protect their own and discredit the victims, Baron then convinces the paper's Spotlight team of reporters to launch the investigation. The Spotlight team is led by Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton), excitable Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James).

What's electrifying about this newsroom drama is how closely accurate it's made, and how almost "real" the story is depicted. It does not melodramatize the situations, and what we see is a group of journalists painstakingly assiduous in doing their job. McCarthy allows the story to take its place, making audience enraged as the scandal snowballs into something daunting and unnerving. I've never been too big of a fan of journalism films but this is one got me. It's pretty absorbing, the message is powerful, and the impact is deeply moving. A solid performance by the entire cast. I was rather surprised and impressed with Schreiber's performance. Ruffalo is as usual a treat to watch, with his righteous anger, edgy movements and pulsating enthusiasm. And another factor which makes the film effective, is the fact that no one is portrayed as the hero, and they basically drag you into their investigation just by being great journalists doing their job.

Rating: B+

#Spotlight #SpotlightFilm #TomMcCarthy#MarkRuffalo #LievSchreiber #MichaelKeaton#RachelMcAdams #BriandArcyJames #FilmReview#MovieReview #Journalism #ChurchScandal#Drama