Best Film? No. Best Documentary - Try that!

Rating: 6/10 (26 January 2016)

Storytelling takes many forms and mediums and as much as I enjoyed 'Spotlight', it could have been presented better by way of Documentary as opposed to the traditional 'Hollywood' storytelling narrative. Now being a fan of Documentaries, I tend to also enjoy films that fall into the category of 'based on actual events'. I know sometimes 'Hollywood' gets in the way of presenting a factual story but as great as the performances were from all leading cast members, I found that the characters were weak and overshadowed by the star power that took them on.
Clearly it was the punchy script that attracted the leading names because none of the characters had any real depth and really don't stand out as a role that an actor would 'just have to play'. Keating, McAdams, Ruffalo and Tucci were all great in the portrayal of real people - This was definitely Ruffalo's film. I get it though... This isn't a film about characters. It's a film about journalistic investigation (Hence why a documentary film may have been a better approach to tell this story). Hearing the word's come from those individuals who worked tirelessly to blow the lid off the Catholic Church in interview style would have made for a more gripping narrative. Spotlight just doesn't have the excitement that came with films like Argo or Erin Brockovich. Was it the director's choice to simply keep the characters two dimensional in order for the investigative journalism to shine through? If so, mission accomplished and well done. However, was the journalistic investigation interesting enough to warrant a 'Hollywood' story - I'm not sure. I was thirsty to know more about the characters motivations for pursuing this story. I was expecting a hardline connection by the Boston Globe to the Catholic Church in order to give that 'Ah-ha' moment that just never came. I was waiting for that 'Hollywood' moment that told the audience that this is why it warrants the storytelling narrative. I wanted an 'Erin Brockovich' and all I got was everyday 'John Smith'.
What I did enjoy about this film is it's visual tone and production design. I enjoy seeking out time and place in regards to era based on the production design elements. The colours, lighting and depictions of the environment both internal and external were en pointe. Natural tones, Light makeup, non saturated colours assist to translate this as real life events - Well done.
All in all, this is a solid drama, well written with good honest dialogue between the players. Tom McCarthy has done an exceptional job with both the written word and direction. But traditionally we like our protagonists with a healthy does of antagonist, in this instance the catholic church was the antagonist, yet their presence wasn't really felt. They didn't come across as the 'big bad', there was no power struggle, the cover up was just spoken of without being shown. Even the victims stories didn't seem to have that vital punch to help drive home the message of evil. Our protagonist are a vital ingredient to the film recipe and here it was missing altogether.
And finally, a little side note that always seems to 'erk' me with films that are 'Based on Actual Events' and thats the text based epilogue, commenting on what has happened in closing - For me, this is somewhat of a cop-out from film makers. As an audience member, I want my payoff, I want my finale and I want to see it brought to life by the characters I've just invested the last two hours in - I wanted to see the Catholic Church go down for those heinous acts. If I wanted to read about it, I would have written to the Boston Globe and asked for a copy of the story.
In this instance, I yearned for Hollywood to get in the way of a factual story. Deserving of a supporting actor nod for Ruffalo and a writing nod for McCarthy - but best picture? Nope - I'm not sold.