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Spotlight - An Oscar Favorite
By Rosie Sullivan
Directed by Tom McCarthy With Oscar nominations announced on Thursday morning, it seemed apropos to share my take on one film that is up for numerous awards (including Best Picture). If you see one film from 2015 (besides Star Wars: A Force Awakens) it should be Spotlight. With the tagline "the true story behind the scandal that shook the world" this film delivers a riveting whistle-blower tale of The Boston Globe versus the Catholic church. Spotlight depicts the story of how the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation, sexual abuse, and ultimate cover-up within the Boston archdioces. In 2002, after eight months of research, The Boston Globe published almost 600 articles on child sex-abuse allegations against Catholic priests and the cover ups by the church which followed. The expose shook the entire Catholic Church to its core. In other, less-adept, hands, this tale could have fallen flat. Director Tom McCarthy (of The Visitor, Meet the Parents, and Up fame) took what could have been simply people talking in a room and turned it into a captivating lively story. Spotlight comments not only on the disappearance of hard-hitting investigative journalism but also on the rampant sexual abuse of children within the Catholic Church which was long-ignored by the church itself and by society. Without sensationalizing anything, Spotlight gracefully handles the lurid details of a fact-based story. It is rather rare these days, what with CGI and the over-the-top effects which summer blockbuster films rely on, that a film can truly be devoted to the story. Told from the reporters point of view it incorporates the victims' stories and relates how difficult it was for everyone involved. Various reviewers are calling it the best film about reporting since All the President's Men. When the tenacious Spotlight team – comprised of Mike Rezendes, Robby Robinson, Sacha Pfeiffer, and Matt Carroll – is told by new Editor-In-Chief Marty Baron to delve into allegations of abuse they are not sure what they will uncover, if anything. It might be a well-known story now, but the audience is still shocked by the scope of it, just as the characters themselves are shocked. As the numbers grow from 3 to 7 to 17, 30, 70 ... 87 (with witnesses confirmations) the horrific truth of the decades-long cover-up becomes evident as the reporters pursue the story. Steady cam shots follow the characters and provide an added sense of realism, at times building the tension. Through his use of single shots, McCarthy gave the actors the opportunity to hold a scene and create a sense of urgency and drama. Montage sequences, where the reporters are painstakingly pouring over documents, showcase the around-the-clock work that it took to break this story. Most of the performances are strong and committed and each character is able to stand on its own in the single shot scenes. But some (I'm looking at you, Mark Ruffalo) were a tad lacking at times. (Despite my opinion, several of the actors in Spotlight are up for various awards). In addition, I am either hard of hearing or the Boston (Bostonian? Bostonite?) accents were not there. In the end, it does not really matter - the film captures the 'newsroom life' in a gripping detective story that honors its real-life subjects in a very touching way. After the screening I attended I was fortunate enough to hear the director speak during a Q&A. He recounted how the most important thing, for him, was to create a film that depicted the journalists properly. He felt that he needed to focus on portraying investigative journalism accurately and do the Spotlight team justice; rest assured, he succeeded. Rosie is a member of the Dedicated Staff of edhat.com and recommends this film to anyone who enjoys Michael Keaton in serious roles. (She also has to give a heartfelt thanks to Karen Warner for sharing her SBIFF Cinema Society pass!)
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