Great Film--Difficult Subject Matter

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2016)

I'm continuing on with my round of watching all the 2016 Best Picture nominees, which has now brought me to "Spotlight", a well made film about the true story of the Boston Globe's exposé of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in the city of Boston.
I've given this film eight stars due to the fact that it's very well crafted, and yet at the same time so difficult to watch that it was hard to really "enjoy" this film.
On the positive side, there is very little that is done wrong in this movie. It tells its story well, and its cast is fun to watch throughout. It was great to see Michael Keaton in a serious role a year after "Birdman", and Keaton definitely adds to the film's gravitas. Mark Ruffalo turns out a similarly strong performance. I had to do a double take, as I first thought someone had miraculously turned Tony Danza thirty years younger just for this movie--Ruffalo's haircut and accent were Danza to a T. But "The Hulk" turns out a strong performance, and provides an effective performance in the film's climax. Similarly, Rachel McAdams is my new celebrity crush--she shines in this movie.
The down side to this film is the subject matter. Yes, it's an important story to be told, and inasmuch as that's true, this is a very important film that everyone should see at least once. But as with other historical dramas of difficult subject matter, "Schindler's List" and the like, this movie leaves you emotionally drained. Because of that, the movie is not one that many will want to watch more than once.
That said, I will note that the film ends in a very satisfying way, providing a very effective closing scene that does add a certain amount of resolution to the movie.
All in all I'm going with 8/10 stars. It's extremely well made--just "heavy" in a way that makes it hard to enjoy.