I cheered out loud when it won the Best Picture Oscar

Rating: 9/10 (31 March 2016)

I saw this movie before the Oscar winners were announced. I wasn't particularly attracted to it, as although the subject matter sounded interesting, I was fearful that it might be a rather plodding film – about journalists slowly uncovering a scandal that is no longer as shocking as it was back in 2001.
(Indeed, does anything shock us anymore?)
As with Brooklyn, I couldn't have been more wrong.
In many ways, this is an old-fashioned type of film and brings to mind similar films such as "All The Presidents Men". Spotlight, is a well-made, thoroughly professional film that was a joy to watch. It relates the true events of The Boston Globe's investigative reporting unit, who uncovered widespread abuse of children by catholic priests in the Boston diocese. Even more, it uncovered the indefensible and disgraceful cover-ups by senior clergy – in particular, the head of the archdiocese, Cardinal Bernard Law – in order to protect the perpetrators and the 'good name' of their church.
Spotlight was the title of the Boston Globe's four-person unit that went into battle against the powerful catholic establishment.They came under enormous pressure from those on high to cease and desist.
The film traces events back to the very start of the investigation when there weren't even enough facts to make a publishable story. Later, when it became clear that there was indeed a verifiable story which involved a single abusive priest; the editor refused to publish the story until they had uncovered the whole sorry mess. It was only after the Spotlight team succeeded in gaining access to hitherto court protected documents that they were able to blow the scandal wide open. As soon as their story was published, hundreds more victims of abuse came forward to give their own stories of abuse at the hands of Catholic priests in the Boston area.
One priest alone was revealed to have raped or molested 130 children for decades while Cardinal Law moved him around to different churches rather than going to the authorities and having him charged. Cardinal Law also orchestrated secret settlements for claims of abuse made against at least seventy of his priests, in which families were paid to keep silent about the molestation and rape of their children. The cardinal resigned after the story became public, but two years later he was promoted to a prestigious position in the Vatican by Pope John Paul.
Since the Spotlight's gritty exposition in 2002, the mass sexual abuse of children has been uncovered in the Catholic Church – not only throughout the United States but all over the world.
The tight paced direction, the great music score, and the brilliant ensemble acting by Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery – and especially Mark Ruffalo – have all made this a film well worth watching. I promise you won't be disappointed.
Along with most people, I was fully expecting The Revenant to get the nod for Best Picture, and I actually cheered out loud when they announced the most coveted Oscar of all went to Spotlight. It deserved it.