"They knew and they let it happen. To kids!"

Rating: 9/10 (16 February 2016)

When news of child abuse in the Catholic church began to start filtering out, I immediately had a visceral reaction to it. It's something you just don't want to acknowledge is happening to young kids at the hands of those who are supposed to be the most trusted and credible members of a community. But then, when it became common knowledge that the perpetrators of that abuse were not held accountable, and in fact were reassigned to another parish to begin the cycle all over again, it was a turning point in the practice of my faith. As a Roman Catholic I had faithfully gone to Mass on Sunday for fifty years. No more.
Now I don't begrudge people from practicing their faith and I'm not on a personal mission to dissuade those who find solace in religion. It's just that the hypocrisy in this instance is simply beyond the realm. It leaves me with a conflicted feeling as well because a good part of my schooling was at the parochial level as well as Catholic high school, and those years were rewarding and fulfilling. So this was not an easy choice to make.
The power of the film lies in the tenacity and perseverance of the Spotlight reporting team in taking on a task against overwhelming odds and stigmatization. It didn't look like it was going to go that way at first, but as each revelation became known, circumstances kept multiplying to such a degree that the story almost began writing itself. It's a tribute to the power of intense investigative journalism that an evil like child abuse in the Church has been uncovered and reported on, and is finally bringing some measure of closure, if not relief, to it's victims.
The picture features a fine ensemble cast and it's noteworthy that no single actor overpowers the rest. As an Oscar contender for 2016, I think it stacks up about equally with "The Big Short", which means it's probably not going to win the big prize as "The Revenant" appears to be formidable. But it's a good film and an important story, so a viewing recommendation is in order.