Directed by : Tom McCarthy
Written by : Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
Starring : Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Brian d'Arcy James, John Slattery, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci
Release Date : November 6, 2015
Based on actual real events, "Spotlight" covers The Boston Globe's Spotlight team of journalists who investigated the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Boston, Massachusetts. The movie doesn't add any additional details or cases about the scandal that hasn't already been originally revealed and made available to the public, which might disappoint some people who went to see this movie because of the subject matter. Either way, this is recent history that is presented very well in this movie adaptation of it.
I would argue that the news story isn't even really the main purpose of this film. This is really more a procedural film about really good investigative journalism. This movie does a fantastic job laying out scene after scene of what the process of writing a news story can be, from the groundwork of research and interviews, all that red tape, to compiling all the data. That's all this film is. It may tackle a very incendiary topic, and it is all riveting stuff, but the movie is very pragmatically made without many dramatic flourishes, to the point that the filmmakers could have just made a documentary.
Since this is a movie and not a documentary however, the screenplay got to highlight the journalists as well rounded characters for the story. The strong cast of actors from Keaton, Ruffalo, Schreiber, Tucci, and more, did a great job of bringing these people to life on screen. Some of the actors acted things in a very understated but effective manner, while others really got to shine playing their roles in specifically nuanced ways. Fantastic performances all around.
It's easy to think that this kind of hard-hitting investigative journalism that is shown here in "Spotlight" isn't common nowadays, but here's hoping that this movie will remind current and future journalists what it is they should strive for in their profession of choice.
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