All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

Rating: 5/10 (9 April 2016)

It seems probable the people with a surname McCarthy are highly not indifferent to any kind of hunting. American director Tom McCarthy, who has the same surname as a U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, whose notions provoked a whole series of persecution of politicians in 50th, concerned with communism, well-known in history as a «witch- hunt», also arranged a «hunt» together with the collective of his new work, but this time a «priest-hunt».
The film «Spotlight» shows the story of child sexual abuse by catholic priests from the Archdiocese of Boston investigation by journalists of «The Boston Globe» newspaper.
The main task of the film lies in its name «Spotlight» – to light up facts to public. That's exactly how the column what the collective of journalists together with their new editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) published the investigation in is called, provoked the immense scandal round the Catholic Church. This story really had a place in the beginning of 2000th and the prepared report brought the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for the newspaper. Some of the journalists who had taken part in the investigation joined to making of the film helping the actors to show their characters better.
But it's not worth while expecting from «Spotlight» the energetic pace braided with feelings boiling and the characters' persuasions. Superfluous runtime and sluggish process of the plot, especially the first 30 minutes, induce in audience only drowse and loss of interest. Pale colors of the editor's office and not much bright journalists' shirts only intensify this process to the Howard Shore's soothing music. Even tears and anger of victims of violence telling their stories to the finders of truth don't take off the fatigue from the quite monotonous dialogs and the characters' emotions.
The only one thing that can give a little impetus to the film is the journalist Michael Rezendes' (Mark Ruffalo) heartfelt cry to his colleagues. Actually the picture doesn't spark interest in the process of developing its events and instead of making the audience root for the «Spotlight» collective success the film only draws a spectator into slow swimming between the lines of clippings and the monotonous dialogs.
The director Tom McCarthy also acted as a journalist given the possibility to audience to learn the element of truth about modern problems of Church. But if you follow the slogan of this picture and really «read between the lines», you may ask yourself: is it right thing that the director had revealed this subject? If Tom McCarthy used material about the sins of some company, as in the Michael Mann's film «The Insider», instead of the story about sinned priests, or materials about common maniacs seducing minors, the film «Spotlight» would look only more colorless and even be more devoid of actuality yet.
The problem of the priests who really perpetrated child abuse is a heavy cross for the whole Catholic Church and rated as a mortal sin and a crime. Such actions of any kind that leave non-vanishing sign in victim's life must be punished. But you shouldn't forget that the Church consists of the same people as any other institution what all the people are also sinned and infirm in. And unfortunately none of us is insured from sins and temptations.
After watching the film a spectator may get the impression about deep viciousness of the whole Church and its hypocritical screen by God's Commandments for the sake of hatching its own interests. Each spectator can endure such a feeling that a journalist Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo) felt, relied on coming some day to church, but after hearing about some clergymen twisted actions, his hope was cracked. That's why exactly this picture can do much harm to audience's faith if it's understood wrong.
You shouldn't brand the whole Church because of some stray sheep. The fact that there are a lot of murderers and maniacs in the world doesn't mean the world lost good people. The director Tom McCarthy spotlighted only the painful wound of the Church. But despite of it I'd like the audience knows and doesn't forget all good actions of clergymen, their ministration to the poor and the needy and the fact that many people got the hope and got rid of many vices thanks to priests and monks.