GreatJust GreatNo Two Words about it

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2016)

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)
Rating: 5/5 stars
"Spotlight" is an exemplary film that shows us the staggering amount of hypocrisy, religious pandering, and face-saving that goes on in the world, from the bedrock of our society right to its highest echelons. More than just an account of ghastly occurrences, "Spotlight" is a mind-numbing, blood-boiling portrait of the pain and suffering experienced by scores of innocent kids around the world at the hands of the pseudo-moral custodians of society. The film tells the riveting true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigative team that shook the city to its core and created a crisis in one of the world's oldest and most-trusted institutions.
When the Boston Globe's unyielding "Spotlight" team of journalists probes accusations of pedophilia against the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation unveils a decades-long subterfuge at the highest levels of Boston's religious, legal, and government establishments, all to preserve a hypocritical, almost criminal pious façade, eventually leading to a plethora of revelations around the world. The way the team go about doing their job compels us to genuinely admire journalists, who work tirelessly to unveil the facts concealing grave issues plaguing modern society, even if those issues bring forth the wrath and clout of powerful, populist institutions like the Catholic Church. Another extremely pertinent thing it manages to achieve is in being a blueprint for journalistic ethics and impartiality, especially in times of subjective news reporting as these.
Tom McCarthy's Direction and his screenplay – co-written with Josh Singer – shrewdly and effectively balances some much-needed wit along with the movie's harsh truths. But where "Spotlight" hits a whole home run is in placing the audience alongside the reporters, enabling us to partake in their disbelief, repugnance, and frustration. The breathless, tense, highly intense performances from a top-notch, fully absorbed, and wholly dedicated all-star cast are almost tangible from the cushy upholstery of out theater seats. Each actor portrays an indefatigable fortitude (Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, and Liev Schreiber – in that order – just do it a tad more than the others) to uncover the length and breadth of decadence unfolding on screen.
"Spotlight" is an intricate web, but, when it's finally untangled, a remarkable and striking picture emerges.