Sensitive intriguing approach to a sad story

Rating: 9/10 (18 February 2017)

Spotlight is a sad and fascinating movie to watch. Sad because it deals with the systematic abuse of children by ministers of the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, this story is nothing that happened just in Boston long ago. Just a couple of weeks ago, an Australian royal commission revealed the same systemic abuse in Australian Catholic churches and boys schools, with higher levels of pedophilia, and similar polices of cover-up and/or disregard for some of the children's complaints. As one of the victims says in the film, "we were not only raped physically, but also spiritually".
The movie is really intriguing because the focus is mostly on the research carried about by the five people of the Spotlight section in the Boston Globe. This is not an anti-Catholic film at all, or a film against Catholics, but an exposé on how the high spheres of the Catholic Church didn't get rid of the abusers and did nothing to protect and support the children and families abused, ignoring the most vulnerable among the community when they were most in need.
I found the whole research process absolutely thrilling. I'm a historical researcher and I know how laborious and demanding research is, but also how rewarding and mind blowing it can be. I loved the fact that the film shows the impact that the investigation had on three of the journos involved, as they were raised Catholic.
All the actors do a great job and are convincing in their respective roles. I especially liked McAdams, Ruffalo, Crudrup and Tucci. However, this is a choral movie, and the chorus sings wonderfully in tune.
The cinematography and atmosphere are excellent, and the music is absolutely wonderful.
The main downside of Spotlight is that the research story becomes a bit flat at moments. A bit of more narrative digging would have lifted up the tone of the movie. 1/ I would have liked more victims' voices being included in the film, and also the details mentioned in the letter of a mother to Cardinal Law being brought out more prominently into the story. 2/ I would have liked having a few of the abusers profiled; we are just hinted the case of Ronald Paquin. 3/ I would have liked to dig into why "Tempo" decided not to follow lawyer Mcleish's letter fifteen years before, and why nothing was done when a victims association provided the newspaper with tons of material, way before Baron took the newspaper over; was it lack of interest? He didn't believe the claim? There were more pressing editorial matters? Why specifically such a horrendous case was just ignored for fifteen years or so?
Overall, Spotlight is a very good movie, with very good performances, great atmosphere, and very balanced in the way it approaches such a delicate and horrible subject.