"Spotlight" - Review

Fight Against Silence

The ensemble cast of Spotlight

We try to live our lives in a way that help us feel safe and in a way that gives us purpose. Humans naturally are curious creatures and always search for answers to our questions, whether they are small and inconsequential or they are questions that explain our very reason for existing. What if the answers for your existence are the variables making you unsafe and hurt? Sadly, there are people out there who manipulate a person's need for purpose and meaning to silence them when it is for their benefit. Thankfully there are people who seek to put a spotlight on these victims who are pushed into silence, but how can one spotlight shine enough light on an entity larger than any of us. Spotlight is based on the very true story of a few brave journalists who hoped to shine that light on one of the biggest organizations in human history: the Catholic Church. It is also one of the best films of the year.

(From left to right) Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, and Brian d'Arcy James

In 2001, a small group of journalists called "Spotlight" worked for the Boston Globe. They worked on investigative pieces and explored every single detail meticulously on every story they publish. When Marty Baron became the new editor at the Globe, he implored "Spotlight" to look into a scandal involving a Catholic priest being accused of child molestation by several victims and their families. After some convincing, the team began to dig and they uncovered one of the biggest scandals in journalism history.

Regardless of how much you know about the Pulitzer prize winning investigation and the truths it unveiled, this film guides you through the discoveries of these journalists in a way that you are never lost and that every reveal is as shocking to you as it was to the team who learned them. This is a very dark film and it goes into some very scary places, but it treats the story with respect and in a way that never feels exploitative. It presents the information in a way that will not alienate audience members. This is how the film is able to mine such great drama out of its story.

The performances are all in top form, but with equal emphasis. There is no real star. Just as it was for the actual journalists, this film  is a team effort with actors such as Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci, and others each doing their part to effectively tell the important story that they all seem so passionate about.

The greatest accomplishment of this film is its dramatization of the victims involved in the scandal. They are sympathetic. You truly understand their pain in knowing that the people they put their religious faith in were the ones that hurt them. You understand their silence in knowing this. Just as journalism and other opinionated writing can be carefully crafted to tell people how to feel and think, religion can do the same but with the disguise of deity and spirituality. One victim earnestly tells the team in one of the film's introductory scenes that "they say it's just physical abuse but it's more than that, this was spiritual abuse. You know why I went along with everything? Because priests, are supposed to be the good guys."

How can anyone say no to a man who represents your God; your reason to be?

This film will excite you with its sense of discovery. It will anger you with the horrors in uncovers and the real world villains who tried to hide their victims. It will remind you of the power of the human voice and the differences that can be made when we decide to not let silence be enough anymore. Spotlight is an incredible experience that is perfectly paced and crafted, with stellar performances and an enlightening script. Expect to see this winning some statues come Oscar time. They would be well deserved.

Grade: A.