Spotlight

Rarely does a film come along that can jerk a tear from my eye without using cinematic drama or emotional manipulation in the form of character empathy or foreshadowing. Spotlight manages to achieve the type of emotional response typically reserved for well-crafted documentaries by simply telling the story in an authentic and just way. Plainly put, the story speaks for itself. The best films in the non-fiction genre are the ones that don't try too hard to be something exceptional. They allow the audience to fall into the rhythm of the characters and dialogue without any subversive plot twists or gimmicks, and they allow the story to just be.

Everyone has heard about the Catholic church child sexual abuse scandal that popped up in Boston in the late 1990's, but there hasn't been a story told on film that has given the story the justice that it deserves; from either side. On the one hand, the church has endured ridicule, and the title of Catholic Priest has almost become synonymous with the punchline of a pedophile joke. On the other, the untold story of thousands of legitimate child sex abuse victims and hundreds, if not thousands of Priests has remained hidden in the shadows for fear of shame, persecution, or God knows what other reasons.

Spotlight refers to the special investigations team of journalists at the Boston Globe. They run high profile exposes and often spend months working a case before it is published. The foursome are portrayed remarkably by Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, and Brian d'Arcy James. Working under the newly appointed Globe editor, played with a veteran calm by Liev Schreiber, they are tasked with following up on an abuse allegation at a Boston Diocese. Rounding out the supporting cast are John Slattery (Mad Men), Stanley Tucci, and Billy Crudup. I can honestly say that this is a case of flawless performances all around, in what is a sizzling and taboo discussion piece. From the outset, there is a growing sense that something isn't right, and the deeper the team digs, the larger the spiderweb of involvement by various people and organizations within the city and in the Diocese. This particular investigation sparked an international outcry for action and blew the lid off one of the worst kept secrets in Boston.

Handling a story of this nature demands a delicate balance. After all, in today's day of religious intolerance, child sex abuse in the Catholic church is akin to ISIS' relationship to Islam. What I mean is that it is easy to pigeon-hole the religion and defame it based on the actions of the few. Admittedly, the numbers are skewed, and there are more abusers than there are apostates, but the crimes are no less horrendous or cowardly than suicide bombing, are they? The film treads lightly on the details, but still places the blame squarely where it lies; the conspiracy to cover up the crimes. The heart-wrenching piece is the shattered lives of the hundreds of victims that never had an avenue to find justice until the court of public opinion was opened up to them.

I would expect nothing less than numerous Academy Award nominations for Spotlight. You could nominate numerous supporting actors with a straight face, but Mark Ruffalo will likely get the lions share of recognition. I would also expect it to end up on Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay ballots. It is a must-see, and will be hard to beat in terms of sheer quality.

Writer/Director Tom McCarthy (writer of Pixar's Up) has certainly made strides since last year's potential Razzie, The Cobbler. Spotlight lands squarely atop my current list of Best Pictures of the year (that I've seen so far). It is beautiful in its execution, acted to near-perfection, and directed with a veteran's patience and eye. What sets this apart from other works of non-fiction is that this story wasn't told to shock audiences, it was told to honor the story, it's a story that needs to be told, and was done tastefully and fearlessly, and that is why it gets such high marks for me. It's hard to beat a film like this in any genre. Of course, it's hard to beat a story like this as well. 9/10.