A Riveting & Important Piece of Cinema

Rating: 9/10 (2 February 2016)

With 'The Hateful Eight' being my favourite film of 2015, it's pretty obvious that I enjoy dialogue-driven movies which showcase true talent... and thankfully, 'Spotlight' is one of those movies. This film arrived at a perfect time - with the internet slowly killing off print media and people forgetting about the significance of investigative journalism, Tom McCarthy reminds us that real news can have a massive impact in the corrupted world we live in. Watching 'Spotlight' at the cinema restored my faith in the current state of the film industry - alongside all the reboots and mindless action flicks, important works of art are still being created and distributed across the world, and I am truly glad I had the chance to support this film.
'Spotlight' tells the true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, but it also explores the painful trauma of those unfortunate victims and the sheer determination of some amazing journalists to get those voices heard and make things right. It's one of those riveting stories that keep you on the edge of your seat simply through a great script and stellar performances; Mark Ruffalo amazed me in particular with his energetic and captivating performance, and even two lesser-known actors (Michael Cyril Creighton and Jimmy LeBlanc) portraying two of the victims managed to impress me quite a lot in their short yet emotionally powerful roles. In short, the casting for this film was perfect - each actor gave their best and worked off the expertly written script wonderfully.
On the technical side of things, the film doesn't exactly "impress", the camera work isn't anything special - simple shots with simple compositions creating and showing what's necessary, and that's okay. The film doesn't need to be visually impressive, it needs to be coherent and represent the story in an appropriate manner... which is what it achieves. If I had to pick out a negative aspect, it would have to be the soundtrack - it's somewhat typical, simplistic and it enters the film way too often, generally making some of the transitions feel either awkward or forced. But that's it, that's the only flaw I could think of in this otherwise magnificent piece of cinema. 'Spotlight' is not just an impressive achievement, it's an important film that needs to be seen by everyone, which is why I'm giving it a solid 9,2/10.