UNITED STATES
PopZette
by Lawrence Meyers
A man exits prison, and his first stop is the apartment of a priest, whom he shoots in the head, splattering blood everywhere. Across the country, the man’s eldest son works as a “fixer,” operating beyond the boundaries of the law, beating stalkers with a baseball bat and cheating on his wife with a girl half his age. One of his brothers is an alcoholic and sexual anorexic, with the mind of a 12-year-old.
Welcome to the family of “Ray Donovan,” Showtime’s series about a Hollywood “fixer,” but whose subtext is about the long-ranging and devastating effects of sexual abuse at the hands of a priest. Every storyline is informed by the Donovan family’s grim past and, as such, elevates the drama and the societal issue far above the superficial treatment the same issue receives in the Oscar-nominated “Spotlight.”
“Spotlight” is a good film, with a solid script, and workmanlike performances from all involved. Yet it lacks any real exploration of the psychological and physical damage suffered by those who endured the abuse. The audience is provided a few scenes with victims, yet they are little more than generic stand-ins that exist more to push the plot forward than to provide any context or detail about life after abuse.
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