Powerfully told story

Rating: 9/10 (1 March 2016)

I'm not the first person to say this, but Spotlight probably is the best journalism movie since All the President's Men. It starts with Martin Baron (Liev Schreiber), who plays the new editor of the Boston Globe, catching on to a potentially explosive story that nobody seems to be covering in great detail – the sexual molestation of young boys by Catholic clergy. So he assigns the Globe's "spotlight" team to the story – a close-knit group of journalists who uncover the biggest scandals in Boston. Michael Keaton leads the team consisting of Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, and a few others as they delve into one of the most important journalism investigations of our time.
The execution of Spotlight is what really made it the best picture winner at the Oscars. The way it delves into the journalistic process – the countless interviews, the research, piecing things together with scant evidence until you get the smoking gun – that's what keeps you watching this movie. A journalism investigation is not exactly something you think would hold your attention for two hours, but it does. It is also a very tightly edited film – each scene moves the story forward and not a moment is wasted or excessive.
What I especially admire about Spotlight is its low key feel and humble nature. It celebrates the value of investigative reporting while acknowledging that journalists really dropped the ball by not pursuing this story sooner. It gives this serious issue the importance it deserves while asking the question – why did it take people, particularly journalists, so long to act? All of the pieces were there for them to put together. Could they have done something sooner? And it does all this with very few manipulative, Oscar baity moments. It lets the story stand for itself.
Spotlight is a triumph of good story telling with little flash or style, and there's nothing wrong with that.