Review: 'Spotlight' may be the finest film about journalism yet

By Randy Myers
Mercury News
November 11, 2015

http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_29098941/review-spotlight-may-be-finest-film-about-journalism

Gracefully understated yet undeniably powerful, "Spotlight" not only captures what it feels like to be a pack of journalists hot on the trail of a clergy abuse scandal, but richly re-creates the Boston setting and the shocking culture of silence within the Catholic Church hierarchy and beyond. It rivals "All the President's Men" in a portrayal of journalism so crisply executed by director and co-screenwriter Tom McCarthy,you're likely to hear even more about it at Oscar time.

Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams headline a top-notch ensemble cast in a taut drama that exactingly conveys a place and time when old-school investigative reporting held sway -- the sort that exposes malfeasance in high places and makes heads roll.

In 2002, reporters on the Boston Globe's Spotlight regional investigative team dug up a shocker. At the urging of a new executive editor who saw something they had not, the reporters uncovered 70 pedophile priests the Catholic Church had protected over decades -- in the heart of a city where the church was sacrosanct and a vital part of many lives. The series earned the Globe a Pulitzer for public service reporting in 2003 and triggered numerous investigations.

"Spotlight" is likely to stir your outrage, but McCarthy and co-screenwriter Josh Singer (TV's "West Wing") go beyond mere provocation. They put us into the worn-out shoes of a motley team of reporters, nailing all the details of what a newsroom looks and feels like just as the newspaper industry was preparing to take a big hit from the internet.

New executive editor Marty Baron (Schreiber), who jump starts the investigation, is a respected journalist from Miami who doesn't mind shaking up a newsroom filled mostly with hires from the surrounding area. As one of the few "outsiders," Marty goes on high alert when he reads a column about a sexually abusive priest in the area and asks why the Spotlight team hasn't looked further into it. Marty doesn't speak loudly, but with understated authority, and Schreiber conveys his quiet, commanding presence with intelligence and ease.

The Spotlight team's new assignment leads to interviews with the abused and a particularly shocking conversation with a priest. With the assistance of overworked lawyer Mitchell Garabedian (Stanley Tucci),m who represents the survivors, the reporters begin to understand the staggering scope of the corruption.

The team is an intriguing, eclectic bunch, and McCarthy -- who is best known for such character-driven dramas as "The Station Agent" and "Win Win" -- excels at making them distinctive, imperfect and human.

Team member Sacha Pfeiffer's specialty is getting people to talk. In one of the film's most moving segments, Sacha (McAdams, giving her career best here) meets with a survivor in a park, where he opens up about the pain and psychological damage done to him by an abusive priest. It, like so many other scenes, is powerful without being manipulative.

The most passionate journalist on Spotlight is Mark Rezendes (Ruffalo, on target as usual), who can be a bulldog when needed, and is so committed to the story he can't help exploding at his editor during a heated exchange. Rounding out the group is the important data guy Matt Carroll (d'Arcy James), who flies a little under the radar but plays an essential role.

Overseeing Spotlight is veteran newsman and editor Walter "Robby" Robinson (Keaton), who choreographs the coverage but is smart enough not to be rushed into publishing it, even if the competition might get it first. Keaton's performance is full of complexity, as his character realizes how entrenched he is within the Boston community. Recognizing that this conspiracy of silence is likely to draw in people he knows, he also calls into question his own past inaction.

It is this acutely detailed etching of characters that gives McCarthy's film its textured layers, without making any of them heroic beyond reproach. It also establishes "Spotlight" as one of the most accurate depictions of journalism put on film, perhaps even the finest example we've seen yet. It's easily one of 2015's best films.