An Almost-There Case Study

Rating: 7/10 (26 November 2015)

Spotlight deals with an incredibly important and recent current event-- the Boston Globe's uncovering of the Catholic priest sex scandal. Throughout the film the characters uncover layers of conspiracy, as well as new twists in the story, and deal with the inherent corruption and guilt in Boston's "small town" atmosphere in that the institutions and people seem to protect each other for the sake of community.
However, none of these plot twists come to full fruition, and the film didn't seem to be able to choose any single theme, instead vying to take on too many.
A good deal of the middle acts are spent with a moral struggle over what story to publish-- whether to quickly publish attacks at specific offenders, or wait to find the story about corruption at the highest levels of the church-- and also the struggle of dealing with guilt over having buried the story years before. However, these struggles are both brushed off or faded out with simple dialogue resolutions in single scenes.
Additionally, early on in the film, the script takes a strong start in dealing with the pain felt by the victims, and humanizing and individualizing them; however, after a few scenes of dealing with the victims, the film pats itself on the back for a job well done and moves on from them altogether.
The ensemble cast had fair performances across the board; Michael Keaton and Rachel McAdams seemed altogether understated, and Mark Ruffalo felt more like a young actor experimenting with stylized performance than the seasoned and ranged film veteran that he is.
That being said, the script succeeds in keeping the viewer's attention throughout the film, and managed to do some justice to the importance of the story and the difficult job that investigative journalists hold. The film was also visually pleasing; there was nothing groundbreaking or breathtaking about the cinematography or mise-én-scene, but the muted colors and well- composed shots made for an accessible and easy to watch experience.