People who shine from within don't need a spotlight

Rating: 8/10 (18 January 2016)

Spotlight tells a story of the reporters of the Boston Globe, where the 'Spotlight' team uncovered a huge, global scandal of child molestation within the local Catholic Church. Spotlight is at its foremost a story about humans, communicating the sides of victims, layers, priests, clerks and reporters, as well as the one of true determination, honor and persistence.
Spotlight at its core is a great, detailed investigative reporting piece. It deeply analyzes the human against the bureaucratic and political aspects of being a reporter, righteously glorifying the seemingly boring parts of the profession, which in the end all play an integral role in the resolution.
The nature of the piece that is being investigated is so surreal and unbelievable that it adds an incredible aura of mystery and suspense into scenes that otherwise would have not stood out. The dialogues are sharp and smart. They show not just the reporting side, but carefully convey the human emotions of these reporters.
Tom McCarthy's style is very fitting to the picture he paints. He is very direct and honest with his shots, giving us many close ups of the characters, helping further analyze the emotions that they are going through. The cast made this kind of directing possible by perfectly blending in with the characters; no one in particular stood out because no one needed to. There is no single hero here.
At first glance Spotlight might seem like another story of underdogs against a blind, soulless, corrupted system, yet the involvement of the Church significantly changes how the story is perceived. It makes these terrible events seem so much more appalling and significant that even the most eventless scenes become incredibly tense and thought provoking.
Yet the point of Spotlight is not to glorify the underlying story or bring the guilty to justice. We get none of that. Spotlight is about showing the process of true, detailed reporting. The 'Catholic Church' story of 2001 was most likely picked due to it's relevance. In essence, this movie could have been about any story, and it still would have succeeded on all the notes that it had. This might make Spotlight one the best films about investigative reporting, the one that fully communicates the demanding, punishing and grueling aspects of the profession.
As such the conclusion of Spotlight is not a victory of the justice system, it is not even a human victory where the victims can finally rest assured. It is the victory of the Spotlight team as reporters, echoed by the storm of incoming calls from victims all across America - their piece has made a difference.